Christmas Train
by djinni14
Summary: A 12 days of Christmas story since it is the season. It is 12 days of Christmas long with an Epilogue at the end. Hope you enjoy it. Image compliments of Frank. Thank you again! - NOW COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Christmas Train**

 **Chapter 1**

 _December 25th_

"Fredrick, are we ready?" Rick inquired after he entered his bedroom with Lily trailing behind.

"Everyone knows you are going on vacation S–" Fredrick stopped speaking when Rick held up a hand. "Mr. C." He hung his head. He was terrible at remembering to call him that and he knew it. It was just that he couldn't help it.

"I'm counting on you to make sure everyone pulls their weight. Everyone has a job to keep this place running smoothly. …Lily?" He had something for her.

Lily smiled at him; she loved him a lot. "We'll do our best, Mr. C."

"I have a job for you if you're up to it. While I'm gone on vacation I want you to plan the After Holiday Party for everyone. Use anyone you need and get anything you need. And don't forget to include _everyone."_ Rick was sure she was up to the job. He just wanted to see her smile.

He wasn't disappointed as he watched her beam. "I'm honored, Mr. C. It'll be the best After Holiday Party ever." Then she decided to risk it since it was a sore subject with him. "Maybe you'll bring back a certain someone this year." He was so alone and it made her heart ache for him.

"Lily!" They'd been down this road before. Every single year to be precise.

"You can't stop me from wishing, Mr. C. We all care about you and you're all alone." She hadn't backed down the last few years and wasn't backing down this year, either.

Rick wanted to be angry with her, but he just couldn't. She held a soft spot in his heart. He shook his head. "No, I suppose I can't. Just don't give me any sass when I come by myself again." He knew she would since she always did, but he could hope.

"No chance of that, Mr. C.," she grinned. "However, if you do I can guarantee that she'll be welcomed with open arms and become an instant member of the family. She couldn't be loved more."

As usual she melted his heart and he couldn't help but hug her. "I make no promises Lil. …Now where's my bag? It wouldn't do for me to be late or I'll miss it and you don't want to see me cranky."

"AH-HA, there it is." Rick picked up his bag off his bed. It was barely an overnight bag in size, but it was special and important to him. Plus it was very colorful. He had no idea what it was made of, he just knew it was soft and lightweight.

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Rick found a lot of them outside waiting for him to see him off. "Okay, listen up. Lily's in charge of the party that is to come. Help her all you can. **DO NOT** do any extra work. While I'm on vacation so are all of you. When I get back we'll get back to work." He watched as they cheered just like they'd done the previous years. He had little idea what the previous guy had done and he hadn't asked much. This enterprise was his now and he was going to run it his way. Plus based on the reactions he had gotten since starting, the previous guy must have been a real ass.

"I'll be back on January 6th. Enjoy your vacation, everyone!" He smiled and waved. They watched as it began to snow all around him and he started to disappear little by little, until suddenly he was gone and the snowflakes drifted away.

"LET'S MAKE PUNCH!" Lily hollered; everyone yelled and cheered. It was also code to spike the punch, get drunk, and wake up the next day with a hangover. It was something they hadn't enjoyed until Rick came along.

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Rick brushed the snow off of his clothing and furtively glanced around. It didn't look like anyone had seen him so he headed off. It took a few minutes to figure out just where to go.

Entering the main building, he looked up at the signs and fished out his paperwork from his bag. It told him which concourse to use then which gate to go to.

First, though, he had to get in one of two lines. He'd never traveled this way before and didn't understand it completely. It looked like all he had to do was walk through a tunnel in the middle that had men in uniform around it, including ones with weapons.

Just before he began to walk inside he looked across the way and saw what looked like a moving X-Ray of everyone and everything. "Oh, boy." He wasn't sure how this was going to go over.

"Sir, if you will come with me." There was a man in uniform waiting for him on the other side.

Rick followed him to a table where another man in uniform and with a weapon was waiting. "This is your bag?" he asked.

"Yep, been in the family for years." It wasn't a lie, even if the bag was relatively new to him.

The man asked another question. "Did you pack the bag yourself?"

"Each and every item. Is there a problem? Maybe if you ask Santa for one next year you'll get one, Robert." The man frowned and looked at him hard. Rick ran a finger over his chest to show him that he was wearing his name and who he worked for on his chest.

"Open it for me, please." Rick let it pass since he was just doing his job, or so he believed.

Rick opened his bag and left it that way. Then watched as Robert used his hands to start searching the interior of his bag. He even pulled out some of the clothing that was inside and placed them on the table. Then he stared at Rick.

"Pajamas," Rick explained as he looked down at his bedtime clothing. They were a red and black flannel tartan. The man noticed they were really soft as he fingered them. "They're Irish," Rick whispered.

Robert looked nonplussed as he stuffed them back into the bag and closed it. "You can go. Have a nice trip." He was done with this guy. He didn't know why the man had been singled out since he didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Have a nice day, Robert. Say hi to your wife, Jackie, and your little boy, Levi. He's been a good boy. Oh, and best wishes on being a father again." Rick walked away and could feel him staring at him in shock. Rick wouldn't admit it to anyone but he loved doing that.

Rick got in line when it was time to board, selected a seat, and stowed his bag under it. He watched them demonstrate the emergency procedures, not that he was worried even a little. It was an average shuttle that took him up to the ship that he would be traveling in to get there.

He never saw the ship itself since the shuttle had no windows. However, he was a little dejected at the ship's interior when he exited the shuttle. It struck him as yet another shuttle, only different. He was a little surprised when he saw only two other people already on board and in their seats.

Rick took a seat and waited. Once again he went through the emergency procedures and didn't really pay any attention. His only companions were behind him. He hadn't really looked either of them over much but was sure he would see more of them later.

He felt them leave Earth's atmosphere and enter FTL after the pilot came on and told them to be prepared since they were next in line.

It only took an hour to reach the station. Rick was up with his small bag as he exited the shuttle and stepped inside the station. The choices were few and he had no trouble finding the right place.

"Ticket, please," the elderly lady said. Rick searched his bag for his ticket and handed it to her.

"Ooo, I don't see many tickets that look like this one." His was embossed with a raised seal.

"It's commemorative. I'm supposed to get to keep it so I can remember this trip," Rick explained, hoping he would get it back.

"That you do, Mr. Castle, that you do." She handed it back to him after scanning it. "Welcome aboard the **Christmas Train**. You're a little late and the train will be leaving shortly. Please enjoy your trip." She motioned for him to enter and walk into the train.

Rick hurried down the walkway and entered the train. "Ticket?" a different person inquired. Rick handed it over. "You have berth A-3. That's three cars that way. There's a mandatory evacuation drill that all guests are required to attend. There's also a map inside your room; please take a moment to memorize it so you know where everything is. Welcome aboard, we hope you enjoy your trip." He handed Rick back his ticket.

"I intend to, thank you, Kevin," Rick told him with a nod and began walking. He smiled, certain he had taken him by surprise. He chuckled; he really did love doing that.

The first car held seating that was all blue with black stitching. Some sat facing across the aisle while others faced front and aft across from each other. The drapes on the windows were a matching blue. There was wood paneling above the windows with wood arches across the ceiling that was mostly white. There was a beautiful coffered ceiling with wood accents. The lighting on the walls was very old school. There were a number of people already seated and waiting for the train to leave. He passed all of them and smiled at everyone who looked his way.

He mostly looked at all of the Christmas lights and decorations that filled the empty space. A lot of it looked old school which he found a little endearing as it touched his heart. The actual lights themselves were all modern and safer than the old lights but they had an old school look.

Opening the door on the far side lead to a luggage storage area with yet another door. This door opened into a small alcove that looked like it would articulate as the train moved. Opening the next door showed yet another luggage storage area and yet another door.

Once past that door he found a car that held some seating with small tables. This place was far more busy as people sat and talked and sipped their drinks. At the far end he saw a small bar with a bartender. He decided he would be back after finding his room.

This space was also filled with Christmas decorations and lighting. He didn't fail to notice that the only tree was the tiny one on the bar. It was rather pathetic-looking and he decided he would fix that later when he had a chance.

Yet again he went through a series of doors to reach the next car. This car had windows on one side with doors on the other. He found his door easily enough; he reached to open it and watched as a light went green and allowed him to open the door.

It was maybe a little narrow, but he mostly only planned on sleeping there, not living there. The bathroom door was first and while it was really nice, it was simple enough. Next he found a sofa in a soft ecru that had a shelf for his bag above it. The opposite wall had a small table attached to it with a pair of chairs that were covered with an antique gold velvet. On a side wall were three small shelves with brass rails that held alcohol decanters that were all tagged and all full. Another shelf held two glasses.

At the far end was a large bed with a comfortable white linen. The ceiling was creamy white with wood arches as decorations. It was also coved so it was tall. The walls were all lacquered wood burl that had a golden undertone to it.

His room ran the length of the train so he had three windows that looked outside. He decided that so far it matched what he had read and seen about it so he was satisfied. He dropped his bag on the bed and went into the bathroom to quickly wash up.

Back in the main room he found something on the inside of his door. It talked about what to do in case of an emergency. It reminded him of the mandatory emergency evacuation drill. How they did that was going to be interesting since this train traveled for twelve days out in space as it went from one sightseeing stop to the next.

Turning around to look at the room again, he noticed it was devoid of any Christmas decorations. He knew that just wouldn't do and he'd fix that later. First he had something he wanted to try. He headed for the bar so he could order a drink that he was dying to have.

Rick found the bartender with no clients; he was simply washing up a little and killing time. "Henry, I'm interested in trying one of your specialties, a Paris Sidecar with Cognac."

Henry's eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, _sir!"_ He got to work on the drink and didn't question how a guy he'd never seen before knew his name. He was happy that the guy knew his drinks. The drink itself was nothing special really. However, using the champagne Cognac that was hundreds of years old told him he this guy had a refined palate and a gold credit card. "One Paris Sidecar." He placed a martini glass filled with an orange colored drink on his counter. He waited as Rick picked it up, tasted it, and watched him smile. "Enjoy your trip, sir." He was sure he would be back for another later.

Rick looked around and didn't see anywhere to sit. Every chair was taken so he decided to just stand at the bar, people-watch, and indulge himself as he looked everyone over.

He was almost finished with his drink and wondering what to do next when a lovely young woman stepped up to the bar. "Do you have coffee?" Henry nodded. "A double shot latte with a splash of vanilla then…and Irish Whisky?" She needed something to take the edge off since she had never done anything like this before.

Rick held out his hand to introduce himself. "Rick."

"Kate." She shook his hand.

Rick already knew her name but allowed her the moment. "You look nervous," he commented as he observed her body language. He was interested in her story. "Never been on a train before?"

"Yes…, first time in space, too." Kate looked him over. He was taller than her, certainly handsome, but there was just something about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on. "I'll get over it." She was sure she would adapt.

"Mine, too. Thought I would enjoy something different this year for my vacation," Rick said.

She was still waiting for her coffee. "Vacation, sounds nice." A brief smile flitted across her face. "What do you do?"

"I own the largest toy store and distribution company on Earth. The Christmas rush is over so I thought I would take a vacation again this year. This train sounded like it might be fun." Rick was hoping it would be lots of fun.

"My boyfriend suggest this trip. It was far too expensive for me on my salary." She was also pretty sure he was going to propose on this train and truth be told, she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"Oh, what do you do?" Rick knew Kate, he just didn't know what she did for a living.

"I'm a homicide detective for a precinct in New York City," Kate revealed, thanking the bartender for her drink.

"Really!" Rick hadn't been expecting that. "Sounds exciting yet a bit dangerous." Fear for her began to creep in much to his astonishment.

"It can be sometimes, but I'm well-trained so isn't really all that bad." Kate turned around to look out into the room and didn't see anywhere to sit. So she took a sip of her drink and loved it instantly.

"You have…" Rick touched his lips and handed her a napkin. Kate took it and wiped her lips and saw foam from her drink on it.

"Thanks." She kept the napkin for next time just in case. Then her eyes flew open wide as she watched someone enter the car and walk their way.

"Shrom, you blue-skinned devil!" Rick had no idea he was on this train.

"Richard Castle. Why are you messing up this train with your pink skin?" Shrom looked like he was ready to skin Rick alive. At least that was what Kate saw after she got over seeing his blue skin and white hair. Not to mention the antennae on his head that seemed to be moving.

Rick laughed. "I'm on vacation. What brings you here and where's the missus?" He reached out to hug him.

Shrom's look immediately softened and he hugged him back. "Vile's running late. If she doesn't hurry she'll miss it. …Is this your wife?" He looked at Kate who almost choked on her drink.

"No! I mean, we… He was…" she sputtered.

Rick helped her out. "We only just met each other. …Is there a problem on this train?" He knew what Shrom did for a living, after all.

"Nothing I know of." Shrom turned to study the room. He didn't see anyone he recognized.

"Where's your room?" Were he and his wife close? It might be nice if they were.

"We're way back toward the end of the train. A pair of twin beds." Shrom was there for a drink if this guy had any of what he wanted.

"WHAT! Oh, _that will not do._ Leave it to me, I'll have you two moved before we even exit the station." Rick wasn't leaving those two way back there in some tiny little cabin.

"Thank you, Pink Skin. You're not bad for a pink-skinned demon." Shrom hadn't been expecting that.

"For a blue-skinned devil, anything. Drinks are on me." Rick turned to the bartender. "Henry, whatever he wants goes on my bill."

"Yes, sir." Maybe this guy was going to be his new best friend, especially if he tipped like he was hoping he would.

"Andorian Whiskey, if you have any," Shrom told him as he waited and watched him dig out a bottle and pour out a glass of blue liquid.

"Thanks, Pink Skin." Shrom raised his glass and went back the way he came to try and find his wife.

"Pink Skin?" Kate didn't understand. "And what were the…?" She waved a finger over her head.

"Your first Andorian?" Rick queried and saw her nod. He was her first alien anything, actually.

"I met Shrom and his wife a few years back. He has a good side if you can find it, much like his wife. Just don't cross them if you can help it. He's a commander in their military. He knows how to kill you just by looking at you. Both of them are good to have around if you need something like that, though." Not that he did. He preferred to solve his and everyone else's problems with a lot less hostility.

"I'll remember that." Kate took a sip of her drink as she watched her first alien walk away. Maybe this trip that she really didn't want to take was going to be interesting after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Christmas Train**

 **Chapter 2**

 _December 25_ _th_

Rick had chosen to dress for dinner in the very best he had. The only drawback with the room was the amount of storage it had or lack thereof. The closet to hang clothes was really narrow as were the two drawers under that space. It wouldn't fit even a fraction of the clothes that he had in his bag. At least his suit came out of the bag without a single wrinkle.

He looked at himself in the mirror and straightened his tie a touch. "Very festive of you." Rick smiled at himself and headed out of his room in search of the dining room.

It turned out to be a few cars to the rear from his room, not that he cared.

"Name?" Rick was asked as he stepped into the space. He didn't answer right away as he was looking the place over. There was a fair amount of honey-toned wood that was used to separate each table. There was a table on either side of the aisle. It looked like there were glass inserts in the wood. Each table looked to be capable of seating four people. He doubted seriously if he would be sitting alone which was fine with him.

"Richard Castle." He was glad that he was used to using his original name everywhere he went.

"Of course, sir, right this way." He led him down the aisle to a table and let him sit. "You will be sharing this table with two other people. Someone will be with you in a moment for you to order a drink. Enjoy your meal." He left Rick to help the next person or two.

His table had a fine white linen cloth over it. On it was a gold-colored warming plate. He could tell because it was actually warm to the touch. He had two wine glasses, a bread plate with a butter knife, and two forks and two knives. "No spoon?" He looked at the setting across from him and saw they didn't have a spoon either. "What if I order soup?" Then his mouth curled up at the corners at the thought of what the other guests would think if he simply lifted up the bowl and sipped his soup.

He was still smiling at what he was thinking when he was interrupted. "This is your table. You will be sharing it with one other. Someone will be by shortly to take your drink orders."

Rick saw them and was surprised. "Kate!"

"Mr. Castle!" She hadn't been expecting him either. She sat down and moved across to make room for her boyfriend.

"Richard Castle, this is my boyfriend–"

Rick finished for her. "William Bracken." Rick wasn't overly pleased to see him and tried to hide it.

Kate was a bit shocked. She didn't remember ever mentioning his name.

Bracken sat down. "Have we met?" The senator couldn't place the face so didn't think they had met. Still he was well known, at least in the New York area.

"Officially, no. Though I'm well acquainted with you. You've been on the naughty list since you were eleven years old," Rick told him and saw the looks he was getting. Rick was not deterred, though. "Let me think, the last present you asked Santa for was…a bow and arrow set. A real one as I recall, not one with rubber suction cups on the tips. Naturally you didn't get it and you've been on the naughty list ever since for countless reasons." Rick knew all the reasons why all the boys and girls were on the naughty list.

Bracken smiled and chuckled softly. Oh, yes, he remembered that present Santa hadn't gotten him quite clearly. He had yelled at his parents for hours when he didn't get it. It was the point in time that he was finally convinced that there was no Santa.

"You're sure we've never met before?" Bracken narrowed his eyes. "What do you do, Mr. Castle?" Maybe that would help him place him.

Kate answered Bracken's question for Rick since she remembered what he'd told her. "Mr. Castle owns the largest toy tore and distribution company on Earth."

"Really?" Bracken tried to think. "Isn't FAO Schwarz the largest toy store?" Bracken was certain he was correct as he wanted to skip over being on anyone's naughty list.

Rick corrected him. "In New York City, yes. However, my place and its distribution system is the largest on Earth."

That had Bracken thinking. It was just that children and their toys were not something he cared anything about. Still he was going to inquire when he had the chance. And how had Kate met this guy anyway?

"Tell me, how is Ellie? Did her hair ever grow back after you set it on fire?" Rick hated him. And not just because he didn't believe in Santa any more. He was naughty, really, really naughty. Rick knew exactly what had happened to Ellie after that day. It was one more reason why he didn't like the nasty snob.

Bracken was shocked into silence. He suddenly remembered setting a girl's hair on fire when he was little. He'd long since forgotten her name. He also didn't care what had happened to her. He did remember being sent to the principal's office. He had eventually gotten back at the principal years later.

Bracken was saved when a young woman approached their table to ask about drinks. "I'll have a double martini with two olives," he ordered brusquely.

"I'll have an Old Glory," Rick said with a smile.

"I'll take a vodka. Lots and lots of vodka." Kate had a feeling this dinner was going to be a long one. What she didn't understand was why Castle hated her boyfriend so much. She was also going to question him about that little girl.

Rick smiled at Bracken and debated if he should continue. It was just that Bracken sat across from him looking so damn smug that he couldn't help himself.

"Tell me about Victor. How did you two meet?" Rick asked.

Bracken was good and he knew it. It was years of practice. He knew _exactly_ who Victor was, what he meant to him, how he'd met him, and what he used him for even today.

"I'm afraid I don't know any Victor," Bracken answered smoothly. "It sounds Russian to me and I don't have any dealings with people or companies outside of the United States. Doing so is against the law, even now."

He was now damn sure he was going to find out just who Richard Castle was. He knew too damn much. Maybe too much. But he knew what to do with nosy people.

"Perhaps, but I don't think so. He recently helped you find that old house in New York. It was perfect for your needs. It had a nice high stone wall that could be monitored. There was only one way in and out which came complete with a very heavy gate that was monitored.

"All you had to make sure of was that the legal owner handed it over to you. …Tell me, where is he now?" Rick knew he wasn't on his list any longer, which only meant one thing: Victor was dead.

"Will?" Kate had no idea what was going on but somehow Castle knew far more than she did, if, and that was a big if, he was telling the truth.

Bracken needed to do damage control and quickly before Kate started asking him questions as well. "I don't know of any such building, I assure you. Both of you. You're obviously mistaken."

He continued to fight back. "I have a residence in New York as required to serve that state. I have to spend a fair amount of my time in Washington DC. My place in New York is an apartment as Kate can attest. I have no need of such a large house."

Rick had a great deal more ammunition he could fire at him, however, he was also watching Kate and she was starting to look a little lost and concerned. For her sake he decided to stop.

"Perhaps some agency would care to investigate after we return. It would be nice to know what happened to the owner." Rick couldn't really let him off the hook.

"Perhaps. But I'm sure the owner is in perfect health." Living his dead life at the bottom of the river in fact.

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The appetizers turned out to be a choice of escargot, chilled strawberry bisque soup, or grilled tomatoes. The salad was either a classic garden salad or a Caesar salad. Their choice of entrée was duck à l'orange, grilled lobster tail, or veal parmigiana. And dessert was a selection of chocolate mousse, crème brûlée, or raspberry cheesecake.

"Well that meal was really nice." Rick was being kind since his meals at home were actually much better. "Perhaps we will meet again tomorrow. It's a small train." Actually it was a large train and they had barely seen any of it. It was only the first day, though.

"That would be nice," Kate murmured; she was full of questions now. All of them dealt with why he hated her boyfriend so much and if he could prove what he'd said about him.

"I'm sure we'll all be very busy tomorrow. So if we don't see you again, it's been nice meeting you," Bracken said and began to wonder if he should add Rick to his list of people he was there for. He took Kate and walked toward their suite.

"Oh, I'm sure we will. The real question is why are you here?" Rick said to himself as he went to the bar to get a nightcap before bed. Once there he found a small party going on. Complete with music and singing. It soon had him leading in Christmas songs since they were his absolute favorite.

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 _December 26_ _th_

Rick was loving his bed. Okay, that wasn't truly accurate. For a _vacation_ bed he was loving it. His bed at home was perfect for him so he loved it. Right now though he was uncomfortable. Something he couldn't quite place was wrong.

Disquieted, he got out of bed and went into the shower. The water felt and smelled a little different. Not bad, just different. "I'm on vacation, it's supposed to be different." He didn't want to say bad even if home was better.

He was dry and stepping out of the bathroom when he heard running in the hallway outside his door. It was disturbing enough that he hustled to get dressed. He pulled the first thing he could get his hands on out of his bag and as expected, there were no wrinkles. He slipped on some comfortable shoes and opened his door just in time to see a young man dressed in white running down the hallway. He knew the train's crew were mostly dressed in white.

Rick ran down the hallway after him until he came to a stop at an open cabin door. Looking inside he saw the place was full of white uniform-clad train officers. They were talking to each other with all of the words overlapping, making it difficult for Rick to understand what was being said. Then he was pushed out of the way and another man dressed in white went inside.

He listened and found out this new man was a doctor. Then Rick singled out a word from all that was being said. "DEAD!" That really got him noticed.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you're going to have to leave. This is an official investigation and you are not involved." Rick was starting to be pushed out.

"If someone was murdered you need to know there's a homicide detective onboard that could help you. Her name is Kate Beckett. She's here with William Bracken." It was the best he could do at the moment.

It was enough that another officer told him to stop. Then he pointed out another officer. "Find this Kate Beckett and ask her to come down here." Then he moved over to Rick.

"Thank you for the help, sir, but you're going to need to leave now." He didn't need a civilian messing everything up. He had enough trouble already and didn't need more.

Rick, however, wasn't willing to leave just yet or ever, for that matter. At least until he was sure Kate was going to help them. "You're going to let me stay and help Kate Beckett investigate what happened here."

It took a moment. "You can remain, sir, but please stay out of the way unless this Kate Beckett wants your help." Rick smiled, pleased that it had worked. He was pretty sure it would, but not everyone was the same. He might have been able to resist his suggestion.

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"Castle?" What was he doing here? Kate had found herself alone in their suite. Bracken was gone and she didn't know where.

A man in white had pounded on their door and insisted that she needed to come with him. That her assistance was vitally important and she needed to come with him. **Now.**

She'd made him wait outside while she got cleaned up just a little and dressed. She'd bundled her hair into a messy bun. She was sure she looked like hell but here she was.

"What's going on?" Kate inquired.

"You're Kate Beckett?" an officer asked and she nodded. "I've been told you're a homicide detective."

"For the 12th Precinct in New York City, yes. …Why?" She was on vacation and didn't need a homicide case to find her way out here.

"I'm afraid we're in need of your services, Detective. We aren't set up to deal with things like this. This is Doctor Jerry Grainger, he can explain what we've found. …Please." He really needed her if she was what he was told.

Kate looked at everyone including Castle. "They could really use your help. I'll help you all I can if you want." Rick wasn't really going to take no for an answer. He didn't need to be told who was dead. He already knew and he wanted to help. The deceased deserved his help. He'd been on the nice list all his life.

"Show me what you've got." Kate was in even if she didn't want to be. This was not turning out to be the vacation she'd been promised.

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Kate had found out that they had no means to check for prints; even if they had prints they had no access to anyone's database. They had no setup to do a mold to find out what kind of knife had been used to kill him.

The fact that he had been stabbed was obvious to everyone. So was the fact that he had bled out and not died from the stabbing itself. Even more aggravating was when she'd found out that the doctor was a contractor with the train company, not an actual employee. Therefore what he had to work with was what he brought with him.

Kate had been told that she could count herself lucky that he had a portable X-Ray machine. Then it got even better. He'd never actually done an autopsy. At least they had a camera so she had spent an entire hour taking pictures.

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Kate finally emerged from the room that was now mostly empty of train employees and found Castle waiting outside. "What happened?" Rick asked.

"He was stabbed from behind. I would say by a knife of unknown type or size. My best guess is that he was in bed asleep when he was stabbed. I wish Lanie was here to tell me more, but I'd say that the blow left him paralyzed. He woke up and slowly bled to death." It was the best Kate could do.

"I can't even get Doctor Grainger to tell me when he died." He was unwilling to estimate the time of death for Kate.

"May I?" Rick gestured, wanting her to let him inside so he could look.

"You want to see all this? The blood's all still there. And he's mostly naked," Kate warned.

"I've seen blood before and I'm familiar with a man's…jewels," Rick replied.

"Is he cleared for this?" Kate asked one of the few train employees that were still there. After getting confirmation, she said, "Knock yourself out." She stood aside and watched everything Rick did in case he either found something she hadn't or if he managed to contaminate the site.

Kate watched him actually search the body then start going over the cabin. He moved to the door. "This door is like my door, correct?" Rick asked a train employee and got confirmation. "If I understand it correctly only I and train employees can open my door," Rick commented and finally had Kate's attention. "Oh, swell." Rick saw the employee nod.

"Does the name Jimmy Van Briller mean anything to you?" Rick asked Kate.

"How did you know his name?" Kate hadn't yet gotten around to asking the train employees whose cabin this was. So how did he know when she didn't find any identification in his room after searching it?

"I'm good with names." Especially if they were on his nice or naughty list. "So what's next?" Rick had never done this before. Kate was the pro.

"Normally I'd find out who he'd last seen. Who he'd last talked to. Where he'd been last. Talk to his relatives and surviving family. And most importantly let Lanie do an autopsy." She wasn't sure how she was going to do any of that.

Rick turned to the train's employees that were still there. "This train has cameras all over the place, right?" Solve that problem first, maybe.

Kate looked at them and saw them all nod. All she saw was hours of watching digital surveillance footage in her future.

"I'll help you," Rick offered.

"Why?" She couldn't understand why was he so willing to help.

"Because," Rick stated then saw the look she was giving him. "You need the help, he was a nice guy and deserves better. Besides he was murdered which means there's a killer loose on this train. So was he or she only after him or will there be others?"

"Good point." She hadn't thought about that yet.

Bracken chose that moment to show up. "What are you doing?" He sounded upset that she was even there.

"There's been a murder, Will. They need help solving it and I _am_ a homicide detective," she reminded him.

"Who is far outside of her jurisdiction and on vacation," Bracken pointed out. "We didn't come here for you to solve murders like you do at home. And who says he was murdered?" Bracken was getting more and more agitated by the second.

"I did and I'm helping them to solve who killed him. It's what I do. You should care who killed him, you're a senator." Kate was becoming quite angry with him.

"A senator who knows where his responsibility ends and is on vacation with his girlfriend. Now let's go, you are **done** here." Bracken waved his hand and started to walk away, only stopping when she didn't follow.

"I'm staying, Will. Someone murdered him and whoever that is needs to be found before there's another murder. I'm the one to find them," Kate informed him. That was the end of the discussion even if he didn't like it.

"And what is HE doing here?" He jabbed a finger at Rick.

"I'm helping. He wasn't on the naughty list unlike someone I know," Rick countered since he really didn't like this guy.

"Naughty list, nice list. Stupid Christmas." Bracken had planned for something else on this trip and now his plan was going down the drain. He hadn't actually foreseen this like he should've. He was seeing his mistake now. He was really beginning to hate Rick, too. He may have to go as well.

"WILL!" Kate liked certain aspects of Christmas. She didn't like everything about Christmas and hadn't since her mother had been killed. It was an activity meant for families. And she'd liked the gift he had gotten her even if he wasn't family. It had looked expensive.

"I'm going to our room. I expect to see you there shortly." He didn't say, _If you know what's good for you._ Yet somehow Kate and even Rick heard it as they watched him walk away.

"Naughty list," Rick reminded her. Kate looked at him with new eyes. He was starting to sound a little weird to her with all this nice and naughty stuff. Just who was Richard Castle?

Kate had to admit that at the moment she wasn't all that happy with her boyfriend. He was acting like an asshole. A man was dead and he acted like he didn't give a shit. That part alone was really pissing her off.

"Security room or your cabin?" Rick replayed that in his head. "I mean you and your cabin not me and you in your cabin." He squeezed his eyes shut; that didn't sound any better.

Kate smiled a little since his embarrassment was sweet. It was also cute and humorous. "Security room. Will can just get over himself. We have a murderer to catch."

Rick smiled. She had just said _WE._


	3. Chapter 3

**Christmas Train**

 **Chapter 3**

Obviously they weren't really tapes that needed to be rewound and played on a machine, of course. But that didn't make watching all of the video recordings of almost everywhere on the train any less boring.

Rick caught up to her as she sat there in front of a screen. "Anything?"

"I've got a whole lot of nothing," she sighed. "I've matched up the names with everyone in the video and chased down each of them for several hours. The frustrating thing is I have no real idea just when he was killed." She tilted her head and looked up at him. "I do have just one really strange thing." She used the controls to find it and play it for him so he could see. "Just this little moment."

Rick watched as the dead man's suite door slid open for a moment, however, no one came out and then it closed again.

"That was at 2:02 am. Then there was this." Kate fast-forwarded and Rick saw the exact same thing happen. The door slid open and no one actually came out. Then it slid closed again. "That was at 2:16 am."

Rick considered the situation. "Maybe he thought about going somewhere and changed his mind. Then thought about it again only to change his mind again." Rick had no idea. Then a question came to him. "You said that he bled out. How long does that take?" Rick wasn't sure if that helped or not.

Kate looked at him since she didn't see what how long it took had any bearing at this point. "It depends, if his only injury from the stabbing was to his stomach or intestine it could take hours."

Rick did his best to understand. "Like in those old Wild West movies where a guy is gut shot."

That had Kate looking at him yet again. "If he was stabbed in the liver he would bleed out in just minutes." She frowned and looked somewhat irritated. "What does that have to do with the door?" No one came out and no one went in.

Rick shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just trying to understand. I'm no doctor."

"Well our _doctor_ is certainly no doctor, either. If you have a scratch he can fix that. If you need your appendix removed you'll either die during surgery or from a ruptured appendix. Add to that he's an independent contractor, meaning the train company can't be sued for anything he does or doesn't do." Kate really didn't like this guy. He wasn't anything like Lanie.

"Remind me to not get sick while I'm here." Rick hadn't really thought medical care on the train would be that bad.

"Have you seen what he charges just for walking into his office? Don't get me started on what he charges for motion sickness." Kate rolled her eyes since she had already looked up what he was capable of doing.

"So video gives us nothing. What's next?" Rick asked.

"We need to search his personal possessions and try and figure out if anything was stolen. Not that I've seen anyone but him going in and out of his own suite." Kate sat back, her entire body sagging tiredly. "Dinner! That's what's next. That and a drink since I could use one." Maybe with some aspirin.

"And where's my–" Kate was all set to admonish Rick for not keeping his promise just as he set a takeout coffee cup on the desk next to her.

"With vanilla and Irish Whisky. I remembered what you ordered the first time." Rick smiled at her. Kate was quiet as she picked up her cup and sipped it, humming as the liquid hit her system.

"Thanks, Castle." Then she ran her tongue over the inside of her mouth. There was something in the aftertaste.

"I added a spice suitable for the Christmas Spirit. Like it?" He was going to use it again if she did.

Kate sipped it again to see if she did. Her smile told Rick all he needed to know.

"I'm going to go get washed up for dinner and change. I'll see you at our table." Rick left her to go to his suite.

Once there he stripped down and stepped into the shower. Now dry, he pulled out yet another of his formal suits. He wanted to look good at dinner.

Rick looked himself over in the mirror to make sure nothing was out of place. "No, it doesn't have anything to do with Bracken," he told the man in the mirror. "Or Kate." He opened the door and headed for the dining car.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Rick got there first and had already ordered his drink when Kate and Bracken showed up. Kate looked positively stunning in her dress. Bracken looked nice in his suit which only irked Rick a little. How such a naughty boy could look so nice was what was getting to him.

Kate smiled at him. "Sorry we're late, Castle."

"There's only the one shower and it barely fits one person." Bracken liked the suite well enough save for the tiny bathroom. He was never taking this train again unless he absolutely had to.

"If we want to see the first event we'll need to eat quickly," Rick suggested. "They plan on stopping so we can take it all in. Provided that we can find an open window to view it from."

"The comets! We have to see that, Will!" Kate had forgotten all about the various stops the train was going to make. It was one of the things that had gotten her to agree to this trip.

"We'll see." The stops weren't why Bracken wanted on this train.

"WILL, we have to see them!" She looked at him askance. "What's _wrong_ with you? This is a Christmas Train." You were supposed to have a good time on a Christmas Train, not be a stick in the mud.

He bristled. "Why are you investigating a death outside of your jurisdiction? This is a vacation not a working trip, Kate." He hadn't really anticipated her investigating murders when he suggested this trip or he would have left her behind and called it a working trip.

"A man's **dead** , Will." What was wrong with him?

Bracken fought back. "You need to let the train stewards and employees handle it. They have a doctor and are more than capable of investigating a murder on their own train. You have no need to be involved."

She fired right back at him. "He deserves justice just as much as the next person. And their so-called _doctor_ barely knows how to apply a band-aid let alone investigate a murder. He's never even done an autopsy before. For all I know he'll faint dead away after he makes the first cut." Kate was actually thinking she would need to do her own autopsy. She had seen enough of them done to pick up a few tricks.

"Then the owner spends the next several months in court for his incompetence. You shouldn't be involved." He needed Kate off of this case and off of any others that came along.

"Well I am and I'm going to find out who killed him. I'm going to be able to tell his relatives that his killer's been found. That's what I do. You know that." She had no intention of dropping this case no matter what he thought.

"We'll discuss this in our room." Bracken got up, threw his napkin onto his warming plate, and stalked off.

Kate watched him stomp away. She'd never seen him like this before. It only added to her list of reasons why she was questioning their relationship. If he didn't support her work why was he even interested in her and why was she interested in him?

"I apologize. I've never seen him like this before." He had always been civil and nice to her. Though now that she was thinking about it, were his gifts his idea of being nice and romantic?

"It's okay. I'm sure he never expected to have a murder during his vacation. I certainly didn't." Rick had expected to have an extended Christmas and see some never-before-seen sights.

"It's just that he should care that there was a murder. He's a senator, he should care. Not to mention that there's a killer running around loose." Kate turned her head to look at where he had gone. "He should care." Above all he should care that it was her job.

"Shrom?" Rick saw him and his wife walking past.

"Pink Skin!" He hadn't seen him since he boarded the train.

"Please join us." Rick shuffled his ass to the far side of the bench seat to make room.

"Yes, please." Kate did the same. She was full of questions. Besides she could tell everyone back home that she sat next to and had dinner with a pair of aliens.

Vile sat down next to him. "Mr. Castle."

"How's your room?" Rick inquired since he had managed to get them moved to a room much like his own.

"It's amazing! I'm told we have you to thank for that. Are all of the rooms filled with Christmas decorations and lights?" Not that Vile really understood much about Christmas.

"Thank you for that, Pink Skin." Shrom wasn't used to owing people and while the room was much nicer, now in his mind he owed Castle for getting it and that didn't sit well with him.

"Don't mind him. He's just like that." Vile ignored the daggers her husband was throwing at her.

Kate was enjoying the banter. It told her a lot about Vile and just who was in charge. "So how do you know Castle?" He was in toys and Castle had said these two were in the military.

Vile began the story. "We were assigned to Earth for a short time to share information and tactics with your military. It was Christmas."

And Shrom added to it. "Pink Skin here thought we were missing out on Christmas and that our child wasn't getting a present."

"You have a child? Why is he not here with you?" Surely they didn't have to leave him behind!

"We don't." Vile threw more daggers at her husband. "Yet." She reinforced her point to him yet again.

"It didn't stop Pink Skin from assuming we had one, however." Shrom glared at Rick.

"They're married and love each other. I assumed, incorrectly I found, that they didn't. …So why don't you?" Rick glared right back at Shrom.

"Yes, Shrom, why don't we?" Vile glared at him, too.

"Pink Skin!" Shrom was going to skin him if he kept this up.

Kate asked a question to calm things down. "Why _Pink Skin?"_

Shrom looked at Kate like she was some kind of stupid. "We're blue, he's pink," Shrom stated matter-of-factly.

Their conversation was interrupted when the young woman arrived again to get all of their drinks and hand over today's menu.

Kate still had questions. "Are all of you blue?"

"Andor is a frozen planet. Most of our cities are below ground to take advantage of the geothermal that our planet generates." Vile thought that explained their skin color.

"There are a few that're part blue and part white though they're not common," Shrom said.

"They're not treated well in our civilization," Vile added.

"With good reason," Shrom argued, ignoring the look his wife gave him.

"And the…" Kate waved her hand over her head.

"Like I said, our planet's frozen. There's lots of ice. Our antennae are used for balance. Actually not being on ice takes some getting used to," Vile explained as Kate stared at her antennae since she was sure they were both moving at the moment. "The movement of the train helps a little."

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

All four of them had found a pair of windows so they could see the show. The train had actually slowed way down so they could see all of it.

They watched as a pair of comets passed each other. One passed through the other's tail which created a spectacular show. That show only continued as each of their tails interacted with the other.

"Amazing!" Kate had never seen anything like it.

"It's just…" Shrom shut up when his wife hit him. He glared at her but kept his mouth shut.

It was actually going to continue for hours and the train was going to stay for a lot of it as it slowly moved along to its next destination before going back into FTL.

"Drinks?" Rick offered.

"Good thinking, Pink Skin." He could use a drink after today's dinner since it wasn't sitting well in his stomach.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

 _December 27_ _th_

Kate woke up, rolled over to look at her travel clock, and groaned. Even on vacation she was waking up like she had duty that day. Then she rolled back over only to find Will missing. She turned to lie on her back and look up at the ceiling.

He knew what she did for work. It was one of the things she had made sure he was comfortable with. She really didn't understand why he was so cold now. Someone had been murdered and she really was all there was to catch whoever had done it.

Yes, she was on vacation and she was going to do what she could to fit in her vacation time with her work time. He had never shown this attitude before so what was so special about this time?

"Maybe he's just being an ass." For reasons she didn't understand. If he kept this up she knew what her answer was going to be if he did propose and he probably wasn't going to like her answer. But they'd been together for about a year or more so she was going to give him a chance. "He'd better have a damn good reason, though." A really damn good reason.

She was grumbling even louder when she heard a knock on her door. It couldn't be Will; he could let himself in and didn't need her opening the door for him.

"This better not be you, Castle." She intended to turn over and go back to sleep. Instead she got up, searched for her robe, then opened the door only to find one of the white suited train employees.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Detective, however we have another body." He meant dead body and Kate knew it.

She closed her eyes for a second and huffed out a breath. This vacation was starting to feel more and more like she was at home while getting a call about another body. "Where?" She needed to know where to go.

"Give me fifteen minutes," Kate said and started to close the door. "And go tell Castle." With two dead bodies she could use the help no matter how untrained he was.

She only washed her face and pulled her hair back in a messy bun. She found something simple to wear and was walking toward the suite with the dead body in about ten minutes.

She was surprised to find that Castle was already there and was slowly walking around, looking everything over without actually touching anything. "Don't contaminate my crime scene, Castle." Kate stepped inside and glanced over to find the doctor, if he actually was one, looking over the body.

Rick held up his hands. "I haven't touched anything."

Kate ignored him, directing her attention toward the doctor. "What have we got?"

"Male, the passenger list has him as Jimmy Graham. Sixty-one years old, a widower according to the file. He takes several medications. Most are for high blood pressure and cholesterol. He does have insulin in pens." The doctor had at least done a little work this time.

"Diabetic. Find all of his drugs and do tests on them. Find out if there's anything in them. Cause of death?" Kate stepped in closer and watched him roll him onto his side which exposed a huge pool of blood that was soaking into the mattress.

"Stabbed just like the other one. Based on the amount of blood–"

Kate finished it for him. "He missed the kidney this time and he bled out slowly. Get those drugs tested." She wanted the results of those tests.

"I'm not really set up to analyze prescriptions for unwanted chemicals." Then he defended himself a little. "I wasn't expecting a murderer on this train. It's Christmas."

"Well you do now so get to work." Kate was not in any way impressed with this guy.

"If he bled out slowly why didn't he call for help?" Rick asked from where he was standing.

"That's precisely why I want those drugs tested. And do a test on his blood, too, Grainger. I want to know what drugs are in his system. Maybe he couldn't call for help because he was drugged." Kate took Rick's question and explained why she wanted those tests.

The doctor started to open his mouth. "Just do the tests. I don't care how ready you were for a murder. You're a doctor so do doctor things." Kate was about done with this guy.

"Cameras?" Rick queried.

"Yeah, more hours staring at a screen." It hadn't helped much last time and she didn't have much hope of seeing anything this time. But she had to do it.

"I'll help. And bring you coffee." Rick was betting she was addicted to the stuff.

"Thanks." Kate could use the help. …And the coffee.

Since Ryan and Espo weren't there it was left to her and Castle to search the room and see if they could find anything. So far the killer was proving to be elusive. He didn't leave anything behind.

Then a thought hit her. As wacky as it sounded Castle seemed to be good at it and maybe his answer would give her a lead. "Was he on the nice or naughty list?" She really couldn't believe she was asking him this.

"Oh, nice, most definitely nice. …Unlike your boyfriend." Rick clapped a hand over his mouth. "Sorry!" Somehow that had just leaked out.

"Will's being an ass for some reason. Start searching and try not to touch anything." Not that she had a way to find fingerprints, or gloves, or bags to put anything that was found in to to be studied later. "Hell of a way to run an investigation," Kate griped yet again.

"You'll do it. I have faith." Rick wanted her to succeed. A killer needed to be caught.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Kate hadn't even had lunch yet and was still sitting in the security room watching video after video of camera after camera. It was tedious and she was tired. Not to mention that she hadn't found much just like last time.

Then she watched as a takeout cup that smelled suspiciously like coffee was set down next to her. "With vanilla and Irish Whisky. I had them add some whip cream and a cherry this time, along with my mystery spice." Rick beamed at her and sat down in a spare chair. "So, anything?"

Kate took a sip and hummed in approval. She had to admit Castle knew how to order coffee; now if he could just make it she would marry him in a heartbeat. Eyes wide, she shook her head. What the hell was she thinking?

"Not much. I have seen this, though." She changed cameras and pressed play so she could show him. Rick watched the deceased's door slide open and then slide closed. "That was at 1:01 am," Kate said. "Then there was this." Kate changed the time and showed him. Again Rick watched the door slide open and then close. In each case no one came out or went in. "That's it. That was at 3:23 am." She sat back. After what felt like hours of watching it was all she had and she didn't like it. But now it was her turn to ask questions. "Find anything?"

"Just this." Rick handed it over to her.

Kate took it and started reading. It didn't really matter that it was being handled this way. She had no way to run any tests on it so she might as well touch it.

She bit her lip and frowned because she remembered something from the previous killing. "Castle, both dead men were in politics. Will could be next."

"Somebody doesn't like politicians or just doesn't like politics." Rick had seen the link between the two as well. "Where is he?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him all day. He wasn't in our room when I woke up this morning and got up for this guy a few minutes later. I have no idea where he is. We need to find him!" She may be conflicted as to whether she loved him or not but she didn't want him dead.


	4. Chapter 4

**Christmas Train**

 **Chapter 4**

 _December 27th_

They had both searched the entire train, or so it seemed. Save for seeing areas on a computer screen, they'd both now seen every car that made up this train with their own eyes. It really was a first class and second class train. It had two kitchens that fixed different foods based on what class they were cooking for.

Multiple seating areas were complete with Christmas decorations everywhere. Rick had been pleased to at least see they hadn't scrimped on those even in second class.

"Where is he?" Kate was actually beginning to get worried about Will.

"He's not outside the train since that would make him dead." The only thing outside of the train was the vacuum of space. "Unless you two brought a space suit." Rick suffered through the look she threw at him.

"We even checked the walk-ins which only showed that this train has a lot of food." It was a twelve day trip so it had to have a lot since there were no stops in the itinerary for them to restock. Just sight-seeing stops. "That just leaves the cabins. …One of the dead men's cabins?" He was on the naughty list but was he also that sick?

"Our cabin!" Kate quickly walked toward their room. Rick almost jogged to keep up. He was learning what having long legs did for a person when it came to speed.

She found him in their cabin. "WILL!" He was looking at a portable computer that she didn't even know he'd brought with him. "Where've you been?" They had looked everywhere for him.

"Here, where should I have been?" He needed to do some research for what to do next.

"There's been another murder. We've learned that both of them were involved in politics. You might be next so we need for you to be monitored so you aren't killed," Kate explained.

"And you're investigating it, naturally!" He hated that part. This wasn't part of his plan. "With HIM!" He pointed at Rick who was standing just a little behind her.

"Castle's helping. What is _wrong_ with you? People are dead, Will! You should–"

Will interrupted her. "YOU'RE OUTSIDE OF YOUR DAMN JURISDICTION, KATE! You shouldn't even be involved. Let the employees solve it, that's their job. Do you have any idea what kind of mess you're risking by being involved? How many lawsuits you are opening yourself up to from family members?" Bracken knew the law that she obviously wasn't thinking about.

"I don't believe you! You're an ass! Something is seriously wrong with you!" Kate had had it with him. She was done with him. "I need my suitcases." She started for the door.

"Just where do you think you're going," he demanded.

"Anywhere but here. I'll sleep in one of the storage areas if I have to." Kate stopped at the door. "Oh, and if you were thinking of proposing on this trip, you can forget it. I wouldn't marry an asshole like you if you were the last man on Earth. …Or in the entire universe for that matter." She stomped out and went to where they stored everyone's suitcases that were part of this car.

Bracken rounded on Rick. "This is your fault!" Rick could see the hatred on his face.

"I'm not the one on the naughty list," Rick countered.

Bracken rolled his eyes. "You and your naughty list. One would think that you think you're Santa Claus or something. Which is impossible, I'll remind you, since _he doesn't exist._ You obviously have mental issues. Something I'm going to make sure you have looked at when I get home. You'll like living in a mental institution." Bracken would see to it. Provided he actually managed to get off this train alive.

Rick just smiled. "I'm a lot more mentally stable than you are, thankfully." Then a question occurred to him. "Why are you even on a Christmas Train if you don't believe?" He knew Shrom and his wife didn't believe, but they at least had an excuse. They were aliens.

"Why I'm here is none of your concern. Does Kate know you're mentally unstable?" Bracken questioned and then watched as she walked in carrying her two suitcases. "Kate," Bracken began, only to see her glare daggers at him.

" **S.H.U.T. U.P.** **,** **WILL!** " Kate opened one of her suitcases on the bed next to Bracken as he sat there.

"Where do you think you're going to sleep, Kate? There aren't any spare rooms, the train's full." He had no intention of not having a first class room for this trip. He was far too good to suffer in second class. Far superior to the scum that stayed there.

"She can have my room. I'll find somewhere else to sleep. I'm a gentleman." Rick looked at Bracken as he said the last part. It earned him a death glare that he only smiled at.

Kate got to work packing. She was in a hurry to get as far away from Will as she could and wasn't even bothering to fold her clothes properly.

Bracken had remained silent through all of it until she was done. He watched Rick take the suitcases from her so he could carry them. "You're making a mistake, Kate. He's mentally unstable. He thinks he's Santa Claus." Bracken was sure Rick was going to make certain she moved in with him.

"I made a mistake, all right. I mistakenly thought that you could love anyone. All you do is use people. Politicians are all the same. You're all cheats, liars, and scum." Her eyes blazed with fury. "You're totally evil. People are dead and you couldn't care less. You're heartless and I'm sorry I never noticed it sooner, but I'm glad I have now." Kate stormed out of the cabin.

"You'll be back." There was nowhere else for her to go. She would soon learn that Rick was a sick man.

Kate didn't bother to respond – he wasn't worth it – and hurried down the hallway, her anger flaring, until she had to stop since she didn't know where she was going to go. Maybe she really was trapped.

"This way." Rick squeezed past her to take her to his room.

"I can't take your… _room_ _?_ _"_ Kate felt her jaw drop when he opened his door and let her step inside. His room was beyond belief. There were Christmas decorations of all types all over the place and the room was totally lit up with Christmas lights. He had no need for the cabin lights with this many Christmas lights.

Rick put her suitcases on his bed which had a Christmas throw on it that looked like it was crocheted. "I'll let leave you alone and let you unpack while I go get you some coffee. Maybe with extra Irish Whisky this time." He smiled at her and headed for the door.

Kate stopped him. "Castle." She wanted to say he didn't need to find somewhere else to sleep, that she could share, but she really didn't know him that well. "You're sure you can find somewhere else?" The train just might be full and neither of them might have a choice.

"Leave that to me. Besides Shrom and Vile's old cabin might still be empty." He knew it wasn't but he had a plan.

Kate knew she was going to lose this argument. "Thanks, …Pink Skin." She bit her lower lip to hide her smile as she teased him.

"I knew you would come around. It's why you're still on the nice list." Rick left her to unpack and closed the door behind him.

"The nice list." She sighed. They really needed to talk about that.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

 _December 28th_

Kate woke up and rolled over to look for her travel alarm clock. When she didn't find it she began to worry. When looking around told her that she didn't recognize anything she started to panic. At that point she remembered her fight with Will and that Castle had given her his room. Then she noticed a night light and it made her smile. Castle slept with a night light. It was cute if not unnecessary. Still it had helped her when she needed it.

She crawled out of bed, turned on the lights, and found the place lit up in the extreme with Christmas lights. "A little much, Castle." She headed to the bathroom so she could start her day. Stripping off her nightshirt and panties, she threw them on the bed and turned on the water. She noticed that the shower head was colored. At first it was blue, then green. When it was green it began playing _Jingle Bells._ Shaking her head, she stepped into the shower. That hadn't happened in the other cabin she was sharing with Will.

Now dry and dressed for work since she still had to find a killer, she opened the door so she could go get breakfast. While she walked she couldn't help but wonder where Castle had slept. Wherever he was sleeping was her fault.

Once she reached the dining car Kate found herself being taken to a different table. Before she even reached it she saw Shrom and Vile sitting with Castle. "Hi!" Castle was there and so were her two new friends.

"Join us." Vile scooted over to make room for her.

"How did you sleep?" Rick inquired.

"Amazingly well, actually." Even after what had happened she'd slept the entire night through. "You didn't have to give me your room, Castle." She would have found something. She could have slept in the doctor's office on his table if necessary.

"It sounds like you, Pink Skin." Shrom believed it and saw his wife staring at him. "Pink Skin tells us you two are hunting for a murderer." He had yet to hear anything about it from the train crew and hated being left out of anything that might concern him.

"Two bodies," Vile added since one was more than enough. "Politicians, we hear."

"I'm sure they deserved it," Shrom stated and didn't notice the look Kate gave him. "The only good politician is a dead politician."

Kate shook her head. "No one deserves to be murdered." No matter how bad they were or what they had done, they didn't deserve that. Better to rot in prison somewhere than be killed.

"In that case be thankful that you are not an Andorian," Shrom shrugged.

Kate's response was stopped when their waiter showed up to take drink orders and leave a breakfast menu for her.

"There's a formal black tie Christmas party tonight." Rick had read about it in today's series of events. "You three are coming, right?" He didn't want to go alone. Not when he had friends he could go with.

"I didn't bring anything that formal to wear. It hadn't occurred to me." Kate had some nice things to wear but not that kind of nice.

"Leave that to me. I'll get you something you can wear," Rick offered.

Kate thought about it and remembered all of the cars they'd toured when searching for Will. "This train doesn't sell clothing like that." They had a lot of merchandise passengers could purchase so they could remember being on this trip, but nothing anywhere near that formal.

"I've learned never to underestimate Mr. Castle," Vile commented.

"My wife's correct. Never underestimate Pink Skin, here. Doing so would be an error." Shrom hated making mistakes and underestimating people. Especially in his line of work since he and his wife were military.

"You'll love it, I promise. …So that's a yes?" Rick looked at all three of them hopefully.

"We'll be there, Pink Skin." He knew his wife would give him hell if he wasn't.

"Sure, …and thanks, Castle." She had no idea how or where he was going to get her a dress but she would go in something. "We need to get back to finding our killer before he kills someone else."

"Right after breakfast." Rick was in. Not like he was going to let her do it alone.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Kate had been sitting in the doctor's office for thirty minutes and she was positively fuming. She was going to have his license pulled if she could arrange it. He didn't even qualify as a medic let alone a doctor. He hadn't even made arrangements for a nurse to help him.

"Where are the bodies?" She didn't need to see them again but what had he done with them? "I hate him!" Kate couldn't wait any longer and left to go back to the security station.

The crewman looked up in surprise and immediately tensed up. "Detective? What can I do for you?"

She had a task for him. "I don't have the time to view each room so I want you to view each room's door. I want to know how many times each door was opened and when. Somehow the killer's managing to get into the cabins. So was he already in the room when our vics entered their cabins, or did he gain entrance after the vics entered?"

He visibly relaxed in relief. "Part of that I can answer now. Each door is set up so that only the owner can open it. Each time he or she does it creates a record. I had to do that for when you moved into Mr. Castle's cabin," he informed her as she watched him print out a list for each cabin. "Here you go. As for how someone else could gain entrance, he or she would need to be able to access to the system and I haven't as yet found any signs of hacking. The cabins are meant to be safe for the guests as they should be the only ones who have access. Every code is changed for each trip."

That left her trying to figure out how the killer was getting into the cabins. "Okay, coordinate each time the door is open and view every one of those times to verify he was the only one through each time. …Thanks." Kate didn't wait for him to say no. She would simply take him to task if he didn't do as he was told.

Next she went back to her room, well Castle's old room, to view the floor plan of each car. She wanted to see where both of her vics were located and how far apart they were to each other. Just how far did the killer have to travel each time after he picked a room he would have come from?

"CREW!" Kate could've kicked herself. Who was to say the killer was a guest and not one of the crew? She knew just who she needed to find to get all the information on the crew. She hurriedly left her room to find him.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Kate had a task for Castle and since she was in his room and didn't know where he was, she had to go searching for him.

Amazingly, she found him in one of the drink rooms. He was playing a piano while singing Christmas songs with other people. She stopped to watch and listen since he had his back to her. She wouldn't say he was the greatest singer but he did know how to play a piano. As she watched she didn't miss that she was smiling as he sang and played. She had to admit he did know how to have a good time. And he seemed to really love Christmas.

They were on their third song when Kate couldn't wait any longer. She walked up behind Rick and placed her hands on his shoulders. He jumped a bit and stopped singing but he did manage to keep playing.

His face lit up. "KATE!" It was very obvious that he was happy to see her. "Sing!" Rick kept playing while the others continued to sing.

"I don't really…" She wasn't there to sing. She was there to get his help.

"Sing or the answer is no," Rick said. Kate growled; she really didn't want to sing a Christmas song. He once again tried to get her to sing. "Come on, Kate, S-I-N-G!" She gave in and started singing. "Louder!" Rick said and began singing himself.

They were all, including Kate, on their third song and she was still singing strong and actually starting to enjoy herself. She had no idea how Castle was doing it, but she was having fun.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Kate needed to get ready for the Christmas party so she went off to her room. Along the way she ran across Shrom and Vile. "I'll be there," she assured them and kept going before they could ask her what she was wearing since she had no idea. She really didn't have anything formal enough to wear.

She stepped into her room and saw it first thing since it was all laid out on the bed. "OH, MY!" Even from where she was standing she knew it was gorgeous. She had no idea how he'd gotten it.

Her hands shaking, Kate carefully lifted it up so she could really see it. The skirt was an emerald green Shantung silk, the fitted bodice was a combination of emerald green and silver. It was off-the-shoulder with long attached sleeves. A mix of sheer fabric and exquisite embroidery was throughout the fitted bodice. The skirt was a soft flared effect with a long slit at one side. The gown was a full length with a decadent train at the back. She laid it back down and picked up the shoes off the floor. They were nude pumps that had six-inch heels on a one-inch platform.

Next she picked up the necklace and held it up. She just had to see it against her skin so she stripped off her top and went over to the mirror. She could feel tears starting in her eyes. On a lovely white gold chain was an emerald pendant with an oval stone as big as her thumbnail that was surrounded by tiny diamonds. She put it back down and picked up the coordinating bracelet. It had three small oval emeralds encircled by diamonds equally spaced on a length of delicate diamond leaves. And of course there were matching post earrings!

Then she saw something else. They were six-inch long silver sticks with tiny bejeweled drops on the ends. "For my hair." She could put her hair up and hold it in place using the silver sticks.

"It's gorgeous!" And it was all too much; she didn't deserve it. "I'm giving it back after the party, Castle." There was no way she was keeping it. It had to have cost him a small fortune. She had no idea how he'd gotten it. But she was determined to find out how. "Before I leave this train," she vowed.

Kate was showered, her hair was up and she had used more makeup than she ever had before. Now she was standing in front of the mirror and barely recognized herself. Both hands covered her mouth as she felt tears starting and had to grab a tissue before she ruined it all. She felt like Cinderella going to the ball. Then there was a knock on her door.

"That better **not** be another body." She really wanted to attend this party.

Opening the door she found Castle standing there. "Castle!?" She barely recognized him.

He was in a dark green velvet dinner jacket that had black silk lapels. There was a black pocket handkerchief in the upper pocket. Under the jacket was a dark green and black waistcoat with an elaborate pattern. Beneath that was a black shirt. His tie was one she had never seen before. It was a silk ascot and he had a large square emerald and white gold filigree slide that rested just below where the normal knot should be.

His trousers matched his jacket's color though they were silk instead of velvet. His black shoes completed all of it. He was incredibly handsome.

"You're gorgeous!" Rick had known she would be lovely, but this exceeded his wildest expectations.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Castle. You're very handsome looking." Kate smiled at him. She had never seen anyone so handsome in years.

"I came to escort you to the party, milady." Rick presented his arm to her.

"Thanks, Castle." Kate put her hand in the crook of his arm and held onto him. She had never felt like this before, not in all her life. No man had ever treated her like this. Bracken's little gifts paled in comparison.

"I wonder what Shrom and Vile look like?" She was looking forward to seeing what her new friends were wearing.

"Everyone will pale in comparison to you, but I'm sure they will be amazing." Rick was delighted to have Kate on his arm as they walked.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Kate saw both of them first and stopped in her tracks to take them both in. Vile was wearing a two piece gown. The top was a sheer illusion scoop neckline that exposed her blue waist with an open back. The top featured beaded pearls along the cap sleeves, neckline, and down the spine while the curve-flattering mermaid jersey skirt that was a bright white completed the look. It made her white hair and blue skin stand out. She was gorgeous! Then Kate noticed a pearl necklace that was a choker and had a matching bracelet and earring set.

Shrom was equally stunning in a navy and steel gray jacquard tuxedo. With steel gray silk lapels, the jacket was breathtaking with its complex navy blue design woven throughout. His waistcoat, bow tie, and trousers were made of the same fabric while his ruffled shirt and pocket handkerchief were the same steel gray color as the jacket's lapels. Ever prepared, Shrom carried an ebony sword cane with a silver horse's head handle. His ensemble beautifully complimented Vile's lovely gown.


	5. Chapter 5

**Christmas Train**

 **Chapter 5**

 _December 28th_

Rick and Kate walked up to Shrom and Vile. "You look amazing Vile." She wouldn't have bought it for herself, however on her it looked completely amazing. "And you, Shrom, very handsome. You need a cane to walk?" She didn't remember him ever using one. Maybe he had hurt himself lately. Kate watched him twirl it with one hand. Vile just rolled her eyes.

"You're looking really good, Pink Skin." Shrom reached out and ran his fingers down the edge of one of Rick's lapels. "You clean up nice."

"Forget him. Where did you get that dress! And have you grown lately?" Vile didn't remember Kate being taller than Rick.

Kate raised her skirt just enough to show off one of her shoes. "Six-inch heels and the dress is complements of Castle. I have no idea where he got it." She was going to ask him about that later even if she did love it.

"I told you Rick could come through. You look stunning!" Vile clapped her hands together since she was so happy for her.

"We need drinks!" Rick announced. "I'll leave you with these two, you're in good hands." Kate let go of him and watched him walk away. She didn't understand why but she already missed him.

"Uh-oh!" Vile whispered. Concerned, Kate turned to look. She saw Will step into the room wearing his tux. He looked nice in it. It was just that it wasn't remotely Christmas-y looking. It was all black. Black jacket, black trousers, black vest, black shoes, black tie. The only thing not black was his white shirt. It looked good on him, but it had nothing to do with Christmas.

"Kate." He barely recognized her as he walked up to her. She was lovely before, she was breathtakingly beautiful now. "That dress is amazing." It made him wish he had gotten it for her.

"It is, isn't it." Kate looked herself over one more time. "Castle got it for me. He's a sweet man."

"Castle." Bracken growled out his name with pure hatred. "This has to end, Kate. You came here with me. I don't want you near him any longer and you need to stop this investigation. You shouldn't be involved with either of them." He'd had it.

"I did and I'm leaving without you. I've never really seen you like this before, but you're an ass, Will, and I don't want anything to do with you. Now that I think about it you showed signs that you were like this. I ignored it, but no more. This ends now. We're over. I've already moved out so the cabin is all yours. And I **am** investigating the murders, it's what I do and I'm proud of it. People are dead and you should be concerned about that. There's a killer running around on this train and he or she needs to be stopped."

"You're making a mistake, Kate, and it's going to cost you. We should talk about your future." Will took hold of her arm to move her away from those two. The only good thing was that Castle wasn't here yet.

Shrom unsheathed his sword from his cane and pointed it Bracken's chest. " _She remains_ _here_ _._ **You** are the one that is leaving." Shrom made sure he understood his situation. Bracken looked at him with killer eyes. Shrom smiled wickedly. "Challenge accepted, human. I will take great pleasure in killing you." It was only going to take a moment for him.

"Stop this, both of you!" Kate yanked her arm from Will's grasp. She already had two dead bodies, she didn't need a third or a fourth. "Leave, Will _. W_ _e are over._ I'll pack any of your things in my apartment and you can come get it when you have the time." Kate was done with him.

"There's nothing in your apartment I care anything about," he sneered. "And this isn't over yet. You and Castle are going to pay for this." Will made up his mind what he was going to do and turned on his heel and walked off with a stiff, haughty stride.

"I can still kill him for you. It'll only take a second," Shrom offered as he watched a killer walk away.

"Let him go. We're over." Kate watched him until he was gone.

Vile stepped over to Kate and touched her arm. "You're much better off with Castle anyway. That man is evil. Castle's good for you."

Kate wanted to disabuse Vile of the idea that she and Castle weren't anything, they were simply hunting for a killer. But Rick chose that moment to show up with four drinks that he was barely balancing. It took Shrom and Vile taking their Andorian Whiskeys from him for him to finally be safe.

"Did I miss something?" Everyone looked upset and very serious and they hadn't been that way when he'd left them.

"It's nothing," Kate told him. She sipped her drink and her eyes opened wide; it tasted wonderful.

"Her boyfriend showed up," Vile imparted.

"Ex-boyfriend," Kate asserted then tried to hide from looking at Castle.

Rick looked around but didn't see him. "Is he going to be a problem?" Rick wasn't sure what he was going to do about it if he was, but he would think of something.

"No," Kate answered just as Shrom said, "Yes." Rick looked from one to the other.

Kate wanted off this topic so she could enjoy the party before going back to searching for a killer. She set her drink down, took Castle's drink, and set it down, too. "Dance with me, Castle." She pulled him onto the dance floor.

Kate found herself holding him and since she was actually a little taller than he was thanks to her new heels, his face was _right there._ So were his lips and so were his eyes. It was very, very easy to get lost in them.

She was still looking deeply in his beautiful blue eyes when suddenly they literally sparkled or she thought they did. It was enough that she needed to get out of them so she moved her head next to his and held him closer.

This dance was nice but she was also feeling his hand on her exposed back. He was slowly stroking her skin. She shouldn't have but she liked it and turned her head so her lips could touch his neck.

Three dances later and she was still lost in his arms. His touch was doing things to her and his scent was also doing something to her. It was clearly his aftershave, she'd never smelled anything like it. She needed a break before she became addicted to all of it.

Then the music changed to something faster and Rick let go of her and started _dancing!?_ She wasn't really sure what it was he was doing but it had her smiling and laughing at him. Then he took her hands and had her doing it too.

The next song was just as fast and Kate found herself smiling and laughing and actually enjoying it. Castle was weird but he was proving to be fun to be with.

"Break time, Castle." The music changed back to something slow and she needed a time out.

Kate got herself talked into Christmas coffee while Rick ordered something called Paris that turned out to be orange in color. Then he offered her a sip. "That's really nice!" She stuck with her coffee but what he had ordered tasted pretty good.

"They look good together," Kate commented as they watched Shrom and Vile slow dancing while holding each other close.

"They're a real pair that's for sure," Rick agreed and then decided to risk it. "What did Bracken do, Kate?"

She really didn't want to talk about it. "He continued to be an ass so I broke up with him. …I'd rather not think about him any more." She really wanted him to drop it.

"Naughty list," Rick said succinctly.

Kate chuckled softly. "You and your naughty list."

"Never underestimate the power of the nice and naughty list." Rick offered her his hand. "Dance? They look a little lonely out there."

Kate took it. "Sure." She could go back to being lost in his eyes and drowning in the scent of his aftershave.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

 _December 29th_

Kate really couldn't believe Castle's cabin. It looked like Christmas; it felt like Christmas; if she wasn't mistaken it even smelled like Christmas.

Getting out of bed, she was confronted by the gown she'd worn last night. It was just hanging there with her shoes on the floor under it. He had told her to keep it. "I'm certainly not wearing it," Rick had told her and she'd laughed at the idea of him trying to wear it. Kate stroked the dress and came to the realization that she hadn't truly laughed for the last year or more. Ever since she'd started dating Will. Somehow Castle had changed all that.

But she had a killer to find so here she was, standing in the doctor's office trying to get him to tell her something. ANYTHING!

"Surely you have found something. You're a doctor!" At least that was what he kept telling everyone especially the train employees who were STILL standing behind him for reasons that escaped her.

"They both bled to death after being stabbed," he stated and didn't miss the look Kate gave him. "The knife appears to be the same. The depth of the wounds are similar. The depth difference can be attributed to the amount of force applied, I suppose.

"Based on the angle of the wound and the pooling of the blood I would venture that both were sleeping in their beds at the time. Unless they woke up when being stabbed they never saw their attacker. Though even if they had awakened at the moment of the attack, the shock and agony would have undoubtedly incapacitated them.

"Both have a different blood type. Both were male, one aged 57 and the other 62. Their homes are in different cities and states. I've checked the blood for what I can and haven't found anything out of the ordinary." The doctor hadn't found much more.

"So they weren't forced to sleep when they were attacked, they were simply sleeping." Kate sighed; she was kind of hoping they'd been drugged. It would've given her something else to use for a search. "That leaves me with how he or she is getting into the cabin. I can't find where anyone but them or a crew member entered the room to clean it daily." Worse was that each of them had a different crew member that cleaned their cabin.

"More than one killer, maybe. One gets him into the cabin while the other does the killing?" Kate thought out loud. "Except I never see anyone else go in or out. You'd think he was invisible or something."

"Or a ghost," the doctor suggested.

She scowled at him. "There are no such things as ghosts," she said firmly.

"The Christmas Ghost," the doctor insisted since this was a Christmas Train.

"Castle." Kate had a question for him now and inadvertently said his name aloud.

The doctor's eyebrows shot up. "Castle is the Christmas Ghost?" That was what they were talking about, after all.

"NO! But he does seem to know a lot about Christmas. Now I just need to find him." Kate left the doctor so she could search for Castle.

She ignored Will when she went through a car that he was in and continued her search for Castle.

She found Vile though. "Vile, have you seen Castle?"

"He's a couple of cars forward. He was helping to decorate a tree with lots of stuff." She really didn't understand the purpose but it did seem to be helping the tree look better.

"Thanks." With a little nod, Kate turned to leave.

"Kate, wait! You like him, don't you," Vile remarked before she got very far. Kate stopped to look at her.

Kate nodded. "Castle is nice, so yeah, I like him."

"That's not what I mean and you know it. You accepted a gown from him. You accepted the jewels that went with that gown. You danced all night with him. You're sleeping in his cabin. I watched you two last night. I saw something between you two." Vile shook her finger at Kate. "Don't tell me you didn't feel something."

Kate was taken aback. "I have a killer to find, not a new boyfriend," she said forcefully.

"This trip ends in a few days. You may never see him again if you aren't careful. Castle is a soft soul, nothing like myself or Shrom. He isn't going to start anything so you're going to have to do it. …He's a good man, Kate. And he's right about one thing. Will, as you called him, is a bad man. A very bad man. Naughty list, as Castle says it, fits him perfectly. Did you love him or were you comfortable hiding behind him?"

Vile figured she had said enough and walked away.

Kate stood there, not sure what to think. Will clearly wasn't the man she had thought he was. But evil? "He's a senator, what would he know about getting past the locked cabin doors? …Unless he paid someone." She knew he had money. Some of the things he had bought her were not cheap.

Instead of searching for Castle she went back to the security room. This time she was going to watch the door that used to be their room. She hoped she didn't see what she feared that she would see.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

She had a lot of hours to watch and wasn't looking forward to it. Then if, and that was a big IF, their door did open and no one went in or out, what did that mean?

Kate was still at it for what felt like hours later. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you," Castle said as he entered the room. "Come on, there's something you need to see." Rick took her hand and gently tugged.

"Castle, I'm trying to find a killer, I don't have time for this." She didn't want to keep watching video but it was her job and no one else was going to do it.

"This is a vacation, Kate. There are events that you're going to see on this train that are once in a lifetime events. Come on," he wheedled. "You need to see this. I'll bring you right back if it makes you happy, promise." Rick tugged again and this time Kate followed him.

They finally found a window they could look out of together. "What am I supposed to be seeing?" Kate saw only blackness and stars in the distance.

"Just keep watching." Rick looked at his watch. "Any minute now."

Kate grabbed his hand and looked at his watch. "Where did you get this thing?" It didn't look like any watch she had ever seen before in her life. It was totally unique.

"This little thing? It's been in the family for generations. I don't actually know just how old it is. Kind of cool, huh?" Rick liked it for what it looked like not so much that it told the time.

He attempted to focus her interest on the window. "Any second now." Kate looked out the window and still didn't see anything. Then suddenly there was this massive flash of light. She also saw a vast beam of light shoot out in two different directions.

"What was that!?" She had never seen anything like it.

"That, my dear Kate, was a supernova. It was untold light years away so there's no danger, but when are you ever going to see that again?" Rick had loved it. Granted it meant a sun just died and had taken its planets with it, but it had been spectacular.

"A supernova." Kate peered out the window again. It was still going on. "How long does it last?"

Rick shrugged. "How should I know? Go ask Shrom, he's from space. I'm from Earth."

Kate kept watching. It really didn't seem to change any, but it was interesting. "Okay, I've seen it." She was done with it.

"It's a supernova!" Rick was loving it.

She suddenly blurted, "What do you know about ghosts, Castle?"

"Ghosts? What about ghosts? What have you seen?" Rick began looking everywhere for ghosts.

"Christmas Ghosts, Castle." Kate didn't have time for this foolishness.

"Ohhh, those. …Don't you know about the three ghosts? The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come. Don't tell me you've seen one of them. What did he look like? Or was it a she?" he asked.

Rick started chuckling as he suddenly remembered the movie. _"_ _The bitch hit me with a toaster."_

"Toaster? Castle, what are you talking about?" There were times when she didn't understand him no matter how nice and gentle he was.

He tried to explain. "It was a Christmas movie. The Ghost of Christmas Past was trying to get Bill Murray to see _his_ Christmas past. You know, _Scrooged."_

"A movie? I mean real ghosts." Kate groaned; she'd fallen down the rabbit hole and had just asked about something that didn't exist.

"So you believe in ghosts. That's great! I'm proud of you." Rick hugged her.

As much as Kate hated being caught talking about ghosts as being real, she really didn't mind being hugged by Castle. Then she remembered what Vile had told her. She just didn't have time for this, she had a murderer to find. She stepped out of his embrace and realized that she missed being in his arms. "What do you know about ghosts, Castle?" They didn't exist but maybe what Castle had to say might help her.

"Christmas Ghosts. …How much time have you got? Um, maybe we should continue this in your room," he suggested and looked around since their talking about ghosts was gaining unwanted attention.

It wasn't until Kate saw people watching them that she caught on. "Yeah, probably." He had a point.

"I'll get the coffee. …And the Irish Whisky." Rick smiled and left her to go the bar.

Kate extricated herself from the others and walked toward her room. Castle's room.

She waited impatiently, her foot tapping, when Castle suddenly entered her room. Of course he could get into the room. It was his room.

"Okay, Castle, what do you know about ghosts?" Kate was willing to try and keep an open mind, especially if it meant she would catch her killer.


	6. Chapter 6

**Christmas Train**

 **Chapter 6**

 _December 30th_

Kate had listened to Castle as he talked about ghosts. While she actually did enjoy his various stories, in no way did it help with finding her killer. There were two chairs for them to sit on and though she didn't remember how, they'd ended up on the bed side by side as she listened to Castle while he wove his ghost story.

She'd been listening to one of his stories when suddenly all of the Christmas lights went out, plunging them into complete darkness. "GHOST!" Rick had yelled then suddenly she was being tickled. She shrieked with laughter. Between his story and being tickled she'd never been happier.

Then suddenly the Christmas lights came back on and Rick was just sitting there. "Don't do that again, Castle." She had enjoyed it but that didn't mean she wanted him doing it again.

He feigned ignorance. "I didn't do anything. It must have been the _Ghost!"_

"Riiight!" Kate didn't believe a word of it. Still the event was now burned into her memory and it was a good one. "You're sweet, Castle." She'd leaned across to kiss his cheek. He'd started to turn his head to look at her so her kiss hit the corner of his mouth instead. It was almost a kiss. Kate hadn't wanted to start something so she had claimed it wasn't ghosts and had gotten out of bed.

Now she was sitting in the security room going over video of Will's cabin. He was a politician and the two dead men were involved in politics. They weren't senators by any stretch of the imagination, but they might've gotten there some day.

"Nice list." No sooner than she had said it she was shaking her head. Castle was rubbing off on her and she hadn't yet decided if that was a good thing or not. However, this trip was actually turning out to be fun because of him.

She almost missed it, daydreaming about Castle and what it would be like to date him after this trip. Dating him might be amazing. It certainly wouldn't be boring.

Kate backed up the recording. She watched the door open for a moment then close. While it was possible, she didn't see anyone do it. No hand, or arm, or body. "What the hell!" She backed it up and played it again. Next she noted what day this was and what time it was. "An hour before the first vic's door opened by itself." Question was, was that significant? "Will was the first target but didn't find him there?"

Kate kept watching and saw it happen again. The door of the cabin opened then closed once more. No one went in and no one came out. Again she didn't see how it opened or closed. The doors weren't automated. You had to apply force to get them to open and close. "An hour before the door to our second vic opens." The entire thing was baffling. "He targeted Will again? Didn't find him so he moved on to his next target?" It was all she could think of.

She knew senators were not well thought of as a whole. And when it came to being elected they always got re-elected no matter how badly they were thought of. It didn't make any sense but that was how it usually worked. So having Will be a target of some killer certainly made sense. She had no idea who he'd pissed off so badly. "Naughty list." Kate sat back and shook her head. Castle was in her head and she needed to find a killer.

"KATE!" Rick's voice was right behind her. She jumped and laid her hand over her heart to hold it in place.

She willed her heart to slow down. "Don't do that, Castle!"

"Sorry, I was looking all over for you and finally thought of here," he said.

"What do you want? …Did you bring coffee?" He was her coffee guy, after all.

"Oops. I will right after this. There's another Christmas party tonight. I wanted to make sure you were going. Please say that you'll come." He really wanted her to come with him.

"All right, I have the dress for it." Kate was actually looking forward to wearing her new dress again. It really was lovely.

Rick shook his head. "Oh, you can't use that dress. This party's one where you're supposed to dress so that you look like Christmas."

"Look like Christmas? How do you do that?"

"Leave that to me. I'll get you a dress to wear. I heard an implied yes so you're coming. Thanks." He stepped in closer and kissed her cheek. "I have Christmas songs to sing, see you later." A beaming Rick left her.

"Christmas songs and another new dress. …Naturally." Kate rolled her eyes and went back to looking at all of her video. But now her mind was on the party with Castle instead of what she was doing.

"If you weren't in your room to be killed where were you, Will?" Kate wasn't looking forward to trying to find him on all this video and matching up the timing of it all.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Kate had barely remembered to leave the security room to go to her room to get ready for the party Castle wanted her to attend. The second she opened the door and turned on the Christmas lights she saw a dress waiting for her, spread out on the bed. With it came shoes and a necklace and earrings.

Kate went over to it and didn't fail to notice that it was another green dress. "Have a fixation on green, do we, Castle?" She still smiled as she lifted up the dress to see it better.

To say it was one weird dress was putting it mildly. "Look like Christmas, huh?" She wasn't really sure it _was_ a dress. It had what looked like evergreen branches attached to the outside. It at least had a lining on the inside that looked and felt really soft. The evergreen portion was obviously fake, but it still looked really weird.

"What are these?" Kate touched one of the little red things that looked like berries. They were all over the dress.

It was strapless and had a red satin belt. Lifting it up also showed her that the gown flared way out as it reached her feet. It reminded her of one of those Elizabethan gowns that royalty wore long, long ago.

"He wants me to wear **this**!?" Kate wasn't sure if he was nuts or if this just might be fun.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Kate had put on the dress she was given. She'd pulled her hair back up again and re-used those silver sticks from last time. Thankfully these shoes didn't have 6-inch heels. The necklace reminded her of the one she had worn with the previous dress.

Thanks to the size of the dress she took up a lot of the space of the cabin. Then she walked over to the mirror to look at herself. She sucked in a breath and stared at her reflection. "I look like a tree. With little red berries. …I look like an idiot!" She decided right then and there that Castle was going to get a piece of her mind.

There was a knock on her door. Kate moved to open it. "I look like a…" She stopped and knew her mouth had fallen open. "Castle?" She really couldn't tell since he didn't look anything like the Castle she knew.

He placed his hands on his belly. "Ho, Ho, Ho! You look amazing! Oh, the lights aren't on." Whoever it was reached over and touched something at her waist where the red ribbon was.

When she looked down, her dress was suddenly filled with soft green lights that made the garment practically glow. "Oh my god!" If she looked like a tree before, now she looked like a Christmas tree.

"You're perfect! Ready to go?" Rick held out his hand.

"You're Santa." Kate looked at someone dressed in a very realistic looking Santa suit.

She watched him grin as his rosy cheeks actually got larger. "Pretty cool suit, huh!" It was his pride and joy.

"You're wearing a Santa suit." Kate still couldn't believe the transformation. He looked exactly like a Santa should look. Not at all like those fake Santas that were all over the place. He was even wrinkled. She had no idea how he did that. He was even wearing these little reading glasses perched on the tip of his nose.

"Yeah, the best suit I own. Ready?" He was still holding out his hand.

Instead of taking his hand she reached out and yanked on his fake beard. Except it didn't come off. "OW! …I think I used the wrong glue. Might have a little trouble getting this off later. You coming?" Rick put his hand back out for her to take.

"I suppose." This was **not** what she'd been expecting. She looked like a tree complete with lights and she was going to a party with Santa.

"How long have you had this suit?" Kate asked as she realized that the train corridors were really narrow especially while wearing this dress. Everyone who was going the opposite way had to find a way around the voluminous skirt and Santa's belly. That was another thing she had noticed. He was fat, like really fat.

Somehow the room they went into to have this party had still more Christmas decorations; she didn't see how that was possible. Two children she hadn't ever seen on this train rushed both of them.

"SANTA!"

Kate stood there like a Christmas tree and watched Castle behave like Santa did with kids on his lap. He actually looked like he was right where he was supposed to be. He was smiling broadly, what she could see of it under all that beard. He was laughing his, "Ho, Ho, Ho," and the kids were both really happy.

They went zooming past her to get back to their parents. "They're great kids." Kate turned to find Santa standing next to her.

"Nice list?" she inquired since he seemed to love saying that.

"Ho, Ho, Ho, definitely on the nice list. …Just like you," Rick told her.

Kate knew she was blushing. "Thanks. So what made you think of going as Santa?" She looked at him and saw those same eyes that she'd gotten lost in earlier. It reassured her that it really was Castle under all that.

"You're supposed to come dressed as Christmas. What more Christmas is there than being dressed as Santa? …Except maybe as a Christmas tree." Rick beamed at her.

"Yeah, I feel like a tree lost in the forest. With no other trees." Kate spread her arms wide to show that there were no other trees.

"You mean all those trees over there?" Rick pointed and she turned to look. What she saw was a fake Christmas tree that was filled with decorations. Behind it were still more Christmas trees. They simply happened to be a whole lot smaller but no less Christmas-y looking.

Kate laughed. "I stand corrected."

Rick held out his hand. "Would the prettiest Christmas tree on the train care to dance? …With Santa Claus?"

She smiled, something she noticed that she was doing a lot more of lately. "This tree would love to." Kate took his hand and followed him to the dance floor.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

She wasn't as tall as last time but Castle was a lot bigger this time and her dress was a lot bigger, too. Still she was enjoying dancing with Santa. "Santa." Just because he looked like Santa didn't mean he **was** Santa. Especially when Santa didn't really exist.

"Yes?" Rick replied.

At that moment Kate realized that she'd said his name out loud and hadn't meant to. She just needed to get him being Santa out of her head, so she needed to think fast.

"How did you get all of this on this train? Your Santa suit, my tree dress, the beautiful gown, shoes, jewelry. Both of these garments fit me perfectly, like they were made for me. So how did you do that? And then there's the Christmas decorations and all the lights. The room I had with Will didn't have any of those things." Their room had been really nice but there wasn't even a whisper of anything to do with Christmas in it.

"You want to talk about that now? …Here?" Rick asked since he just wanted to keep holding her and dancing. They were already halfway through their vacation, it was going to be ending soon. Far too soon to his thinking.

"I…no, probably not." But her list of questions for him was starting to add up. Nothing was making sense.

She let herself to get lost in his eyes again. It allowed her to look past the costume he was wearing, portraying someone who didn't exist.

Kate had lost track of time and was still lost in his eyes when suddenly a lady screamed bloody murder. It took Kate's attention off of Santa and onto her. What Kate saw was a woman who was terrified down to her very core.

Then she started pointing while still screaming, "NO! PLEASE NO!"

Kate looked where she was pointing but she didn't see anything. Yes, there were other people in the room but they had all stopped moving and talking and were looking at the woman who was screaming.

"PLEASE HELP ME! SOMEONE, HELP!" She was backing up like whatever or whoever was getting closer. But other than her no one else was moving.

"NOOO!" Suddenly she dropped to the floor. Then a small puddle of blood started to form.

"What the…?" It just didn't add up. Still she was on the floor bleeding. "Call the doctor." Kate stared at her Why she was bleeding didn't make sense.

Then out of nowhere it started to snow inside the car. It was heavy; it was sticking to everything and collecting fast. Kate had only taken one step toward her so far. "Snow?" Kate held up a hand and watched it collect in her hand.

Another woman started screaming and pointing. Kate snapped her head around to where she was pointing. This time she saw snow collecting on… _nothing_ _?_ There was no one standing there and yet the snow was collecting. As it continued to snow heavily it began to take the shape of a person. It had a body, arms, legs, and a head.

"Castle, do you see that?" Was she really seeing something? Perhaps an illusion of some type. Then whatever it was ran for the far door; the door opened and it was gone.

Kate rushed over to the woman who was on the floor still bleeding. "She's been stabbed. We need the doctor!" Kate screamed out the last part.

Then Santa was next to her and used his white gloves to cover her wound and apply pressure.

Suddenly Shrom and Vile were standing next to her. "What happened here?"

"She's been stabbed, we need the doctor," Kate told both of them.

"He was invisible. The snow forced him to show himself," Rick said to him just as Kate noticed that it had stopped snowing completely.

"Invisible." Shrom looked at his wife who immediately began thinking about what the killer was.

"An assassin suit," Vile offered as her husband nodded his agreement.

"A what?" Kate had never heard of such a thing.

"An assassin suit. It renders the attacker invisible except to his target. His target sees… well, Death. A ghostly apparition that represents death. It's been said that it's terrifying to see it," Vile explained.

"Where did he go?" Shrom queried.

Kate pointed toward the door. "It, whatever it was, went through that door to the next car." She at least now knew her killer was at that end of the train. She just needed to make sure he didn't make his way past her. Which was going to be a challenge if he was invisible.

Shrom looked at his wife. She nodded and said, "I'll get our stuff." Then she ran off the opposite direction.

"Stuff? What stuff?" What were they talking about?

"You really didn't think we would come on this train without being able to defend ourselves?" Shrom didn't believe her. She was a detective, surely she was armed or could be.

"Weapons are forbidden on this train." Her weapon had been confiscated before boarding.

"Where's Pink Skin?" He saw Kate and some fellow in a red suit who was really fat.

"That would be me, Shrom." Rick was busy keeping pressure on the wound.

Shrom looked at him with shock. The change was amazing. He even reached out to pull on his beard a little. "Too much glue," Rick stated with a wince.

A lot happened in the next few minutes. The doctor and more train employees showed up as did Vile who was wearing something and carrying something. She handed a vest to Shrom who quickly put it on. Then she handed him a weapon. It was really small and almost disappeared in his hand.

"I'm going with you," Kate declared; they were **not** finding her killer without her.

"Not dressed like that, you aren't." Shrom had no intention of taking the feisty detective with them.

Vile agreed with her husband. "You almost glow in the dark, Kate."

Kate looked down at her dress. Her tree dress really wasn't something she should be wearing while hunting down an invisible killer. "Fine!" She stood up and started stripping. She wasn't bashful and she had a killer to catch. She was down to just her strapless bra and her panties in seconds. "Let's go!" She was going even if these two didn't like it.

"I'll catch up as soon as the doctor takes over," Rick told them.

Rick watched the three of them head for the door the killer had gone through. He really needed to follow, but how was he going to do that with all these people around _AND_ make sure this lady survived? Kate didn't have much faith in this doctor, even though he wasn't one either.

"YOU, stay behind both of us!" Shrom pointed at Kate. "Remember, if you see Death, that's the killer. His suit's extremely dangerous. The sight of him can render you almost motionless. Unable to defend yourself." Shrom looked at his wife who nodded at him.

Shrom opened the door and the three were off after a killer in a suit that rendered him invisible. A killer that they weren't going to see unless they became a target and if they were a target they would be frozen in place.

Only Shrom and Vile were armored and armed. They left behind a very worried and frightened Rick. He needed to save Kate and stop a killer, but he was trapped. He needed something so he could slip away.


	7. Chapter 7

**Christmas Train**

 **Chapter 7**

 _December 31st_

The trio had only just made it to the first car coupling space. Curious, Vile asked, "How did you spot him the first time," as they all walked very slowly while keeping their eyes open, looking for anything.

"It suddenly started to snow and the snow stuck to him. It was just the vague shape of a person but you knew he was there," Kate answered.

"Then we'd better hope it starts to snow again. The problem is he might find a way to double back on us and escape. Take off the suit and simply blend in." Vile got ready to open the next door for her husband who had his weapon trained and ready.

Kate began wondering why it had snowed in the first place. It had never done that before, so why had it done that now?

Kate walked as slowly as her friends, however, instead of walking with a weapon in her hand, she had her hands in fists. She was going to punch and kick him until he was down and unconscious if she had to.

The next car was filled with people sitting and talking. So as not to cause a stampede and allow the killer to escape past them, Shrom and Vile had to try and hide their weapons while still keeping them at the ready.

Kate felt out of place wearing only her bra and panties. She had even taken off her high heel shoes so she could run more easily. Which meant she was now walking around barefoot. She did her best to ignore the stares she was getting. She was secure in her feelings about her own body, it was just that being practically naked in public wasn't all that easy.

So far Shrom and Vile hadn't spotted anything out of the ordinary. They'd even taken to stepping in or sweeping their arms in spaces where he might be hiding as they slowly walked to the far end.

"Shrom!" Vile had spotted something and got his attention.

Shrom's head whipped around. "What?" he hissed. Kate had her eyes on a different direction.

"The far train door just opened and no one went out or came in," Vile warned.

"We continue slowly. It may be a distraction and we need to search the luggage areas, too. He may try hiding in them." Shrom was in no hurry to rush the door and try and catch him.

It took time and while no one stopped them, they did get a lot of looks, especially Kate. "I knew I hated that dress," she whispered to herself.

Vile had heard her and gave her opinion easily. "You wore it because of Castle. I think he likes you…a lot."

Kate shook her head. She didn't need her feelings for Castle getting in the way. She was hunting a killer and she needed to focus on that though it was difficult. She did like him, she liked him a lot. She hadn't been this happy in a long time. Will had never made her laugh, not once.

Stepping through the door they were confronted with suitcases stacked behind support straps on both sides. "Keep the door closed. No one goes through it while we search." Shrom told Kate as he and Vile began moving suitcases. It was slow and a little tedious, still it needed to be done. An invisible person may be just that, invisible. But he or she still took up physical space. Shrom and Vile were counting on their training to not end up being stabbed to death by an invisible person.

Vile looked at Shrom who shook his head. He had nothing and it was looking like Vile had nothing as well. They continued to the next door that was a simple articulated section of the train. Searching it took almost no time since there was no place to actually hide.

Vile opened the door for her husband and followed him into the next car. Once again Kate was left guarding the door they had just come through while they searched the luggage storage area.

Kate was finding that walking around in nothing but her bra and panties was a little cold. Not enough so that she could see her breath or that her teeth chattered, but she was starting to get goosebumps and had begun rubbing her arms to keep warm.

Once again Vile looked at her husband who shook his head. Neither of them had anything. She moved to the next door.

"This is one of the bar cars," Kate said to them. She'd been studying everything about this car for hours on end.

"Liquid." Shrom smiled and looked at the other two.

"We splash him and whatever gets wet will become visible," Vile explained when Kate gave them both a questioning look. "Be ready to throw someone's drink at him if you see something." Now was not the time to be worrying about someone complaining about ruining their drink.

Shrom nodded and Vile opened the door for him.

At first Shrom was a little shocked at what he saw. But like his wife, he did not fear death. "That doesn't work on me," Shrom stated flatly then shot a hole in their invisible killer. Collapsing to the floor, he was dead before he even hit it. It was only then that the other two could actually see any portion of him. But for the hood they would have seen a look of shock on the dead man's face. His suit was supposed to scare them into inaction. Except Shrom had shot a hole right through him. It was about the size of a baseball. It took out a large section of a lung and almost half of his heart. Along with a number of ribs.

"You got him." Kate was a little surprised.

Vile had heard her husband and understood instantly what he had tried to do. Shrom wasn't afraid of anything, much like herself. They were both well-trained.

His action had gotten the attention of a number of people in the car that were drinking.

"Let's see who our killer is, shall we?" Shrom bent to remove the hood that allowed his face to look like Death.

" **WILL!** " Kate was shocked and couldn't believe it. He was close to the last person she would have suspected. In fact she was thinking he was the killer's next target. "Why?" Him being the killer didn't make any sense to her.

"Your old boyfriend. Isn't he a politician?" Vile was also a little shocked at seeing him. She hadn't suspected him either.

"Yeah, a United States Senator. Why is he the killer?" Kate stepped in closer to remove more of the hood to get a better look at him. He was clearly dead since he had an enormous hole in his chest.

"Why, Will?" She obviously had her killer but it left her with questions. She was thinking about searching his room for answers.

Then she saw something clutched in one of his hands. One hand clearly had a knife in it but the other hand was clutching something much smaller. She reached for it and pried his hand open.

" **NO!** " Vile screamed at her but it was already too late. The three of them and most everyone in the car never felt a thing. They were dead so fast they didn't see or feel anything as his body exploded. Kate had, without even knowing it, exposed a dead man's switch.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Rick was still holding pressure on her wound while the doctor was actually doing his job. "I need to get her to my office so I can operate on her. The wound's bad but I think he stuck her stomach or intestine this time instead of one of her kidneys or liver. I think we have time." He needed to start operating on her straight away.

"Keep applying pressure. You two help me lift her and carry her to my office." He singled out two people who were standing around just watching. "NOW!" Neither of them had moved a step until he yelled at them.

"Keep applying pressure…Santa?" He'd only just noticed just who was applying the pressure. He had no idea there was a Santa Claus on the train. It was a Christmas Train, though, so he wasn't that shocked.

Suddenly the entire train pitched violently which sent all of them flying. The two helpers lost control of the woman's body. Rick lost his ability to apply pressure to the wound and all of them hit the far wall then crashed to the floor.

It left all of them a little dazed and Rick was the first to attempt to stand up. He had only just succeeded when he saw a violent flash of orange and red light, then the car lurched again, sending him crashing back to the floor and sending the others flying again. For a brief second Rick and the others saw fire. It was just enough for Rick to wiggle his fingers and it started to snow again.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

"Tickets please." Will and Kate stopped and handed over their tickets. "You have berth B-2. That's four cars that way. There's a mandatory evacuation drill that all guests are required to attend. There's also a map inside your room; please take a moment to memorize it so you know where everything is. Welcome aboard, we hope you enjoy your trip." He handed them both back their tickets.

Kate was out in front and couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu that was almost consuming her. She knew down deep inside that she'd done this before. All of it. It was just that it didn't make any sense at the moment.

She walked through the first car that had a lot of blue in it. Blue seats and blue drapes with windows on both sides. "A bar car is next," she whispered and started opening doors, not waiting for Will to do it for her. She was in a hurry to get somewhere.

"What's the rush?" Will didn't understand just what she was doing. She had always allowed him to try and be a gentleman. He'd used it for the last year to get her on his side. To try and get her to believe that he was a nice guy.

Kate ignored him as she walked into the car and saw some seating areas with small tables. All of the tables were being used at the moment and the place was filled with passengers that had beat them onboard. She made her way through the crowd as quickly as possible and stopped at the bar. "I'll take a double shot latte with vanilla and Irish Whisky when I get back, Henry," she said and kept moving. Henry was a little taken aback. She was the second person that knew his name and he had never seen either of them in his life. Still he got to work on her drink since he wasn't busy at the moment.

The next car had a narrow corridor down one side with windows on one side and doors on the other. Kate stopped at the third door down and stared at it. The brass plate said A-3 on it. "Our cabin is the next car down, Kate." Will didn't understand why she had stopped there. This was not their cabin.

Kate turned to look at him and couldn't help but feel repulsed by the sight of him. He wasn't just ugly now, he was hideous. She didn't know why she'd never seen him like that before. She couldn't stand being next to him. He was the most vile person she had ever met. "Leave me alone! Move on to your cabin, I'm staying in this one," she said and saw the look of shock on his face. "NOW, WILL! I don't ever want to see your face ever again. You disgust me! MOVE!" He was still just standing there looking at her. "I may not have my weapon but I can still kick your ass. Now get out of my sight!" she all but yelled at him.

Bracken took his two suitcases, squeezed past her, and continued down the hallway toward the next car. He stopped to look back and saw her just standing there looking at the door. "You _will_ pay for this, Kate." If she wasn't going to be his arm candy to help him get elected president then she wasn't worth anything to him…or anyone else.

Kate never took her eyes off the door in front of her. She somehow knew who was on the other side. She also knew how she felt about him. She raised her hand to knock on the door but stopped. Her heart was beating so fast and her nerves were getting to her. Suddenly tears were rolling down her cheeks. She loved him. With all of her heart she was certain that she loved him and she was going to prove it to him. She gathered her courage and got ready to knock again when suddenly the door opened. Rick was going to go get that drink. Except he found Kate standing there and she was crying. Seeing her had him frozen in place, unable to move or speak.

"Hi, Castle." He was incredibly handsome, tall, broad-chested and broad-shouldered. She wasted no time in cupping his face and kissing him. It was the kiss she had always dreamed about. It was soft, sensual, and amazing. Just what she knew a kiss was supposed to be like. She also somehow knew it was their first. Kate broke from the kiss and looked into his eyes. They were blue and deep and she was lost in them. "Hi," she barely whispered.

"Kate?" It was her yet it shouldn't be her. He meant he knew she would be there on the train but not at his door kissing him. And how did she know his name? They hadn't met yet. At least not this time around.

"Are you going to invite me in?" She was still standing out in the hallway with her luggage.

"Um, yeah, sure." He was shocked but also happy to see her. He watched as Kate picked up her suitcases and walked into his cabin.

Kate put her suitcases down and looked around. Something was wrong, really wrong. "Where are the Christmas decorations and the Christmas lights? This cabin should be filled with them." She turned to him to find out why it wasn't.

"I, ah, I haven't put them up yet. How do you know about them?" She shouldn't have any memory of him or this room, and yet it seemed as though she did.

Kate smiled widely since it looked like she had the advantage even if she didn't understand how or why. "Do you still have my dress, Castle? The gorgeous green one?" She secretly loved that dress. It was now her most favorite dress of all.

"Um, in the bag." Rick gestured at his little overnight bag that was still on his bed.

Kate turned to look and saw a little overnight bag that her mind told her she had never seen before. At least something was new. It also left her with a question. How did her two dresses, Christmas decorations and lights, and his suits all fit in that tiny little bag?

"His suit." Kate turned back around to look at him. Suddenly he looked different to her in a way that warmed her heart like it hadn't been since she was very young.

"My suit?" He frowned; he wasn't following. "Which suit?"

Kate stepped up to him and got really close, still lost in his eyes. "The red and white one, …Santa." He didn't exist, at least that was what her head had told her since she was a child and had decided that he didn't exist. However, at the moment her heart was in charge and she was going with it. She loved him and couldn't stop herself.

"My Santa suit." Oh boy, what had he done this time? "What do you remember?" He decided to start with that.

"I remember that you look incredibly handsome in that green suit of yours. I remember that Shrom and Vile are on this train." Kate stopped there when she saw the look of shock on his face. Still she soldiered on. "I remember you getting me to wear a Christmas tree dress that I looked ridiculous in, by the way. I remember that there's a killer on this train. I remember…" Her voice trailed off, stopping there since she remembered who the killer was.

Kate raised her hands to cup his face again. "I remember that I fell in love with you, Santa Claus." It was impossible but she just knew he was Santa. Someone she had given up on countless years ago only there he was, on a Christmas Train, out in space of all places.

Rick had no idea how she could remember all that. He had used his Christmas magic to reset everything so he could do it all over again. Only this time hopefully he would be able to stop the killer before he killed his first person. It had been a spur of the moment decision. Except Kate shouldn't be remembering. He must have screwed up somehow.

"Say something." Rick was being too quiet. She needed to know what he was thinking. Her heart was open and his to destroy if he chose to. She was hoping that he would fill it instead.

"Lily's going to have kittens," Rick muttered then kissed her. This time the kiss was anything but soft and sensual. It was filled with pent-up, unused passion that left both of them breathless. Kate had no idea who this Lily person was but she would fight for him if she had to.

Then Rick started fussing with the buttons to her top and Kate was smiling jubilantly. "Make love to me, …Santa." She was in, all in, and she was keeping him. Santa Claus now belonged to her if she had anything to say about it.

"Your wish is my command. Perhaps you could write Santa a letter telling him what you want." Rick couldn't resist teasing her a little.

"Uh-uh, I'd rather show him." Kate got to work on his buttons while he was busy with hers. "Am I on the nice list or the naughty list?" she purred.

"What do you think?" Rick said then kissed her while slipping her top off her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor.


	8. Chapter 8

**Christmas Train**

 **Chapter 8**

 _January 1st_

Kate woke up and when she opened her eyes she saw Castle's face right in front of her. They were lying in bed facing each other. She began to smile a soft, sweet smile. What she really wanted to do was stroke his face and maybe at least lightly kiss him. However, she feared that might wake him and she really wanted to just watch him for now. She studied his face while he slept. His five o'clock shadow was by now a little more and she found that she liked it on him. He looked even more handsome if that was even possible.

The sex last night had been breathtaking. She wasn't a virgin by any means but sex with him had been incredible. She'd learned that he didn't have her experience. She had actually had to tell him what she wanted him to do. He had dived in and had done everything she'd asked of him. He didn't have the skill while his head was between her legs like she was used to but she'd enjoyed it completely. He would get better with more practice – she knew that – and that almost had her worried.

She had also found that he climaxed quickly, but he had more than made up for that by either staying hard or getting another erection quickly. He just needed more practice and she was going to make sure he got a whole lot of experience. In fact now was as good a time as any. Since they were still naked she worked her way down a little lower then gently rolled him onto his back. He was soft but she could fix that.

He was hard when she heard him say groggily, "Kate?"

Kate took him out of her mouth. "Morning, Castle." She smiled saucily then took him back into her mouth. Once she heard him moaning she took him out of her mouth and mounted him. She lowered himself down on him and enjoyed herself.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Kate was lying on him after they had both climaxed; she loved where she was. She raised her head and looked at him. "So you're Santa." She had a lot of questions for him.

"Pretty cool, huh!" He actually loved being Santa. His eyes met hers. "You stopped believing in me."

She hid her face against his chest. "Yeah." She felt bad about it now but not then. "I'm sorry." She believed in him now, though. Then she felt something land on her; she reached to grab it so she could see what it was. It was a piece of paper from a kid's tablet and the person had used a crayon to write on it.

 _De_ _e_ _r Santa,_

 _all I want for christmas this yeer is a baby sister. or maybe a baby brother. please, it is just me and my mom and dad._

 _i love you._

 _Katie_

"This is my letter to Santa." Kate sat up and looked down at him. She was comfortable with him already and didn't care that she was naked and exposing her breasts. Besides he had paid a lot of attention to her breasts already and he had done it all on his own. She hadn't had to ask him for that.

"I keep every letter I get. I have an entire warehouse filled with letters to Santa," Rick shared.

Kate read her letter again then looked at him. "This was my last letter. I never sent another one. …I'm so sorry." She felt tears pricking her eyes.

"You asked for the one thing Santa couldn't give you. I can't give life or take life. That's a different department. I only make and deliver children's toys," he explained, stroking her hair.

"I stopped believing because I didn't get what I wanted. That and we didn't have a chimney." She felt terrible about it now.

"I lose a lot of children every year because they stop believing." Sadness shadowed his face. "At first it really hurt. It felt like they were rejecting _ME._ I was taking it personally. It took me a while to learn that it was just a fact of life. It still hurts, just not as much anymore."

Kate dropped her letter and leaned down so she could kiss him then sat back up. "Do many of them come to believe in you again? Like me?" Secretly she wished she was his first.

He shook his head. "No, but relatively speaking I'm still fairly new at this. But you? For this Santa, yes, you're my first." And it made him so very happy. Kate leaned down so she could kiss him again. She started to sit back up but Rick stopped her when he saw her tears. He reached to brush them from her cheek. "Crying?" He hated seeing her cry.

"I've never been this happy before. You make my heart happy." Kate used her own hand to wipe her tears from her other cheek then kissed him again. After breaking from the kiss she just laid on him and let him hold her.

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"I have so many questions." Kate was full of them.

"Fire away." Rick wanted her to know everything, though he had his own question, but it could wait.

"You're Santa but you don't look like Santa except that one time at the party. So why don't you look like Santa all the time?"

Rick tried to explain. "Technically I **am** Santa, it's just that I usually only look like Santa one time every year. The rest of the time I look like me. I really am Richard Castle. I just also happen to be Santa Claus."

Kate nodded. She was catching on. "So you're Santa on Christmas Eve when you deliver toys to children all over the world in one night."

"Wearing the suit transforms me into looking and being Santa. I've tried to get the elves to call me Mr. C instead of Santa. It feels weird being called Santa when I don't look like or feel like him most of the time," he shrugged.

"There are elves!? Like real elves?" She pushed herself up and looked him, her eyes sparkling. She was dying to meet one.

"Of course! Who do you think makes all the toys? They're not like Lord of the Rings elves, but yes, elves. Most are about five feet tall but it varies a little. They're all amazing." He loved them, each and every one of them. He just had a special place in his heart for a select few.

"And you live in the North Pole?" Of course he lived in the North Pole. "Sorry, that was a stupid question."

Rick smiled and reached out to kiss her. "Not a stupid question. Actually we live _under_ the North Pole. We need to stay hidden if we want everything to be normal."

"Under the North Pole." Actually that made sense to her. The entire planet could be seen using satellites. Except a lot of satellites could see underground now. So how did they hide from those?

"You have reindeer and a sleigh? Just like Santa's supposed to have?"

"Naturally. They're Comet twelve and Dasher thirteen now, though. The original reindeer are long gone, however, their children have taken their place. Even the original Rudolph left us long ago. We simply leave off the number. They feel like the originals to all of us." He had learned to love the reindeer.

"How long have you been Santa?" How old was he and if he wasn't the original Santa did that mean he was going to die?

"I've only been Santa for a few years. I replaced the old Santa and became Santa," Rick replied patiently.

Kate breathed a sigh of relief. That meant he wasn't nearly as old as she feared. "What happened to that Santa and the other Santas unless he was the original Santa Claus? How many Santas have there been?"

"He died. Fell off a roof, fell out of his sleigh, something." He shrugged. "They haven't really been overly forthcoming about how he died and he was Santa the sixth. I'm the seventh. Seven is a lucky number, right?" Rick smiled at her.

Kate smiled with him then leaned down to kiss him. She still had a lot of questions, though.

Rick asked a question this time. "What do you remember?"

"Everything! I remember both parties, the comet, the supernova, Shrom and Vile, and…Will." Then it hit her. _"Will is the killer!"_

That had Rick sitting up, forcing Kate to either lean back or wrap her arms around him. She chose the latter. "Your boyfriend is the killer?" He really hadn't been expecting that. Yes, Will had been on the naughty list for a long time, but not that naughty.

"EX-BOYFRIEND! **EX!** " She didn't even want to remember ever being involved with him. "Shrom shot and killed him. He has this suit that makes him invisible except to whoever his target is. Vile called it an assassin suit." She had never heard of one before.

Kate looked at him wide-eyed. "We need to arrest him!" She let go of Rick and started to get up off of him.

He cocked his head. "Arrest him for what, exactly?" There was a huge problem with her plan.

"For murder, of course." Surely Rick saw that. Her entire body sagged. "Except he hasn't killed anyone on this train yet." Kate put her arms back around his neck. "What do we do? He's going to kill those people and we can't let that happen. He needs to be in prison." She just didn't know what to go about that now. He had to be stopped. She needed Rick to help her.

"Where is he?" That was the first challenge.

"Probably in his room. I'm staying here this time…with you. Can we do that this time?" She wanted to be close to him the entire trip this time and make love to him every day.

"I don't want you anywhere else. Except when this trip is over, of course." He tightened his arms around her; he didn't want to lose her.

That reminded Kate of something. "Who's Lily?" She glared at him. He belonged to her now, not some other woman.

"Jealous?" Rick loved the thought of it.

"No, …yes, …maybe. Who is she?" She had never felt like this with anyone.

"Lily's an elf. There are two elves that I rely on to run the place, Fredrick and Lily." Then a thought hit him. "They're going to start wondering where I am when I don't come back on time." They were both going to bend his ear in the worst way.

"But we've started over. Haven't we?" It sure felt like they had to her.

"For us and everyone and everywhere else, yes. But the North Pole isn't affected. In about six days they're expecting the trip to end and for me to come home. We still have all twelve days left to us." Rick was never going to survive getting home late.

"Can you call them? Tell them you're going to be late? Something? Anything?" She knew they didn't have any communication capability while in FTL and they likely were in FTL already.

"I'm so dead." Rick fell back onto the bed. Lily especially was going to kill him for this.

Kate started laughing since it was just so funny. The thought that big Rick who was Santa Claus was going to be taken to task by some little five foot elf had her laughing hysterically.

"Not funny. You haven't met Lily." He was so dead.

That lead Kate to her biggest worry: what happened to them after this trip. She lived in New York City and she wasn't quitting her job. She was needed there.

She took a deep breath. "Castle…Rick, what are we going to do after this trip? I love you and don't want to lose you. But I live in New York City and I have a job. It's important to me and I'm not quitting." She didn't want to lose him but she didn't want to quit her job to keep him, either.

He sat up so he could wrap his arms around her again and have her put her arms around him as well. He thought the answer was simple. "I'm Santa."

"Not helping, Castle…, Santa." His answer wasn't the answer she needed.

"I would demonstrate but we're in FTL so I can't. I can go anywhere in an instant, Kate. You can keep your job in New York and I can come get you when you get off work. Just call me and I'll be right there to take you home." Rick thought it was simple.

"To the North Pole." Kate needed to think about that.

"You want to live somewhere else? Not with me?" His heart ached at the thought that she didn't want to stay with him.

"Can I? Live with you, that is. Will that work?" He nodded, smiling. "I'm going to live with Santa!" She kissed him soundly.

"Wait, what am I going to tell my work? They'll need an address for me. I can't tell them I live in the North Pole and work in New York." Then she had an idea. "Maybe just a Post Office Box that has a real address. Would that work?" She needed to think about it.

"The North Pole. It's really cold there, isn't it?" She was going to turn into a Popsicle. She got cold easily. She was going to freeze to death there.

He attempted to explain it to her. "We're underground where it's a lot warmer. Most of us don't wear all that much. Now outside of our not-so-little place, yeah, it's cold. Really cold. We try to avoid it mostly."

"So how big is this place? How many elves are there?" She was thinking a simple Santa's Workshop, but he'd said something about a warehouse. He did have to have some place to put all the toys.

Rick thought about telling her but he had an idea. "You'll just have to come see when you move."

She began smiling widely. "Move in with Santa Claus." She couldn't wait and thoroughly kissed him.

"So what do we do about Will?" He hadn't killed anyone on this train so what were they going to do so that no one had to die? She kept her arms wrapped around his neck and felt his arms still around her.

That had Rick sighing. He really didn't know what to do about Bracken. "Shrom and Vile, maybe. They might have an idea." It was all he could think of.

"Yes! Wait...no. Shrom will probably kill him." She didn't want him dead. She wanted him suffering in jail till he died of old age. No one deserved to be killed.

"We won't know until we ask them," Rick countered.

"Okay, let's ask them." Kate got up off of Rick and was ready to go.

He raised an eyebrow. "You think clothes might be a good idea?" Kate was standing there in the altogether. She looked down at herself.

"Oops! Yeah, maybe after a shower," she agreed. "One at a time. How big of a shower do you have at the North Pole?" She was thinking of conserving water and showering with him.

"We'll renovate. There are a lot of elves who will be thrilled to do the work. We can make anything." His shower at home was barely bigger than this one.

Kate wrapped her arms around his neck again. "Have I told you that I love you?" She knew that she had, but she realized that she liked saying it. A lot.

"For the record, I love you, too. So very, very much." Rick gently kissed her.

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They decided on food first since they had missed meals yesterday. Admittedly they had been rather busy with each other.

They were stopped before entering. "Names?"

Rick replied, "Kate Beckett and Richard Castle."

"We're together." Kate didn't want him to think that she was with Will. "May we sit with Shrom and Vile? They're friends of ours." She wanted to sit with their friends, not that they knew anything about her.

"This is going to be weird," she commented quietly as they approached both of them since they were already there.

"Think about what you did the first time you met them," Rick said just as quietly.

"This couple will be your tablemates. Someone will be by to get your drink orders soon and give you today's menu choices. Enjoy your meal." He walked back to the entrance.

"Pink Skin!" Shrom had not been expecting him here.

"Hi, Shrom, you blue-skinned devil." Rick greeted him with a grin then sat down and moved over to make room for Kate. "Shrom, Vile, this is Kate. Kate, meet Shrom and Vile. They're Andorians."

"A pleasure." Kate extended her hand and shook both of their hands.

Vile noted she was entirely comfortable with both of them unlike a number of humans on this train so far. "You've met an Andorian before."

"Just two." Kate tried to hide her smile since the _two_ was them.

"Andorian Whiskey for me," Shrom told the gentleman that showed up to get their drink order.

"I'll have the same," Vile said.

Kate knew what she wanted but she was suddenly curious. "I will, too." She decided to risk it.

Rick had had their whiskey before but chose to join them. "Me as well." He walked away, leaving them with today's menu.

"What are you doing here, Pink Skin?" He hadn't expected to meet anyone they knew. However Rick was a pleasant surprise.

Kate jumped in before Rick could say a word. "My boyfriend suggested this trip and I jumped at it." She smiled as she watched Rick turn his head to look at her. "We're looking forward to it."

"I never knew she was such a big fan of Christmas. Big surprise." A really good surprise to be sure. "I didn't know you two celebrated Christmas." He had met both of them only once before.

"We have two weeks before we're to be reassigned so we decided on this trip. It was a way to learn more about humans and their holiday," Vile said. "I had to drag Shrom here." She turned on her husband who glared back at her.

Kate offered a reason for Shrom to agree to this trip. "Happy wife, happy life, you know!"

Vile had decided Kate was a good person. "I like you."

"You would," Shrom growled back at her.

"Ignore him, he hasn't had anything to drink today yet." Vile loved her husband but there were times.

"This train better have a lot of Andorian Whiskey, for your sake," Shrom informed her.

"I promise to never order it again and make sure no one else orders any, if I can help it." Kate elbowed Rick in the ribs.

"Me, too." He glared at Kate for doing that to him.

They ordered their food next. Kate decided she needed to get started before Will had a chance to do something. Tomorrow was his first kill if she remembered correctly. "What do you two know about an assassin suit?"

Vile stopped drinking while Shrom almost spat his out. "Why?" Shrom asked since it's very existence was bad. Both of them looked between Kate and Rick for an answer. That damn thing meant trouble to both of them. Big trouble. "What have you gotten yourself into, Pink Skin?" He was sure Rick was behind this somehow.


	9. Chapter 9

**Christmas Train**

 **Chapter 9**

 _January 1st_

"You're certain he owns one of these suits?" Shrom didn't have a problem arresting him in the name of interplanetary law when he would really like to just kill him and keep the suit for himself. He just wanted to be sure.

"Absolutely positive." Kate had seen him wearing it. He was dead and had had a big hole in him at the time, but yes, it was Will.

They stopped outside of Will's cabin and Shrom knocked while his wife held her weapon in the palm of her hand. Just in case.

Will opened the door and was shocked to see who it was. He looked from Shrom to Vile, to Rick then Kate. "What do you want!?" His hatred of Kate flared. _No one dumped him._ He would dump her after he was elected president but not before.

Shrom didn't explain; he simply grabbed him, pulled him out into the hallway, and next to his wife who shoved her weapon into his stomach. "Move a fraction and you die," she informed him coolly. Will watched as Shrom went into his cabin without his consent.

"What the hell is going on?" He was going to make sure all four of these people paid for this after this trip. Provided that all of them lived to leave this train. Since none of them answered his question he was left standing there, fuming while he waited. It was obvious to him that the blue-skinned guy that had entered his cabin was in charge.

"You do know having weapons on this train is forbidden and you can be punished for this," Will snarled.

"What weapon?" Vile replied sweetly and pushed it further into his gut, reinforcing her point. Bracken growled at this outrage. He wasn't used to be treated like this. He was a US Senator and completely enjoyed the power that that gave him.

"You four are going to spend a lot of time in prison. You should have stuck with me, Kate. You'll be an old maid before you get out." He was thinking that killing her might be too good for her. Letting her get old in prison might be better.

Kate really wanted to rip into him and tell that ass what she thought of him. However, she'd been with him for far too long and that was grating on her something fierce. What she saw in him baffled her. It was like she'd been a different person before.

"This has gone on long enough. What is it you four think I've done?" He hadn't as yet done anything, except for do some research and scouting out his first person on the train.

Luckily for the three of them Shrom showed up and he was holding something. "This," he stated matter-of-factly.

For the first time in a really long time Bracken was worried. Still he needed to take control of this situation. "I've never seen that before in my life." He would worry about how to get it back after he cleared his name.

"Being in possession of this suit means life in prison and I did find it in your cabin," Shrom said unwavering, countering his statement.

"It was planted by someone. I have enemies, after all." He actually did have enemies and he was there to get rid of three of them. "You planted it in my cabin. I just don't know how or why."

"This train is filled with cameras. They'll show that none of us have ever been anywhere near your cabin. It belongs to you, Will, and you know it. It's yours, all yours," Kate contended. She had spent hour upon hour watching videos generated by all those cameras.

"You still can't prove it belongs to me," Will blustered since he had a lot of the very best lawyers at his disposal.

"We're in space in FTL. Your Earth lawyers have no jurisdiction here. The rules that govern this train out here are different. You're under arrest for possession of an assassin suit." Shrom pulled out his own weapon and pointed it at him. "Let's go."

They had no trouble finding any of the train's ranking officers. But this was a train; they didn't have a jail or need for one. They really didn't have a way to detain Bracken. Will was practically gloating at that point.

Kate quickly offered a solution. "We can lock him in your cabin and you can have his cabin. Surely we can lock his cabin door and keep him from getting out."

Will turned to look at his former girlfriend. If the glares he was throwing at her could kill, she would be vaporized instantly.

"Maybe we can give him enough food and water for twelve days, a pail to pee and poop in, and leave him there until we get back," Kate suggested since it sounded simply evil to her. He would get his just desserts for being a murderer.

Shrom and Vile stared at Kate. "I like your girlfriend, Pink Skin." Shrom was impressed with her. Her idea was positively evil and was perfect for this guy.

"Our cabin it is! GO!" Vile jabbed her weapon into him to get him moving. "We need food, water, and a couple pails." Vile was onboard with this plan. She, like her husband, was now more impressed with Kate. She was perfect for Castle.

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"YOU **CANNOT** DO THIS! I'M A UNITED STATES SENATOR!" Will screamed when Shrom threw the empty buckets at him inside their old room after taking their suitcases out.

"Yes, we can." Shrom slid the door closed and his wife got to work using her weapon to seal his door closed on all sides. She had already sealed the door inside his room that lead to the Jack and Jill bathroom that was shared with the cabin next door.

The train officials had watched it all. While they weren't happy with it all, they didn't see where they had much choice. Those two were armed counter to regulations. They would file a formal protest later.

"How are we going to get him out after we return?" The official was pretty sure they had nothing to unseal the door.

"We'll cut him out or simply blow the door off." Shrom shrugged. It would be no big deal.

"Who's going to pay for the damages?" He certainly wasn't paying to repair the damage these two were making or going to make.

" _You_ let him on this train with an assassin suit in his possession," Shrom reminded him while his wife continued sealing the door.

"You should be thinking about how you're going to be keeping your job if I was you," Kate said since she loved this plan. He was in a jail of sorts and not free to kill people.

Vile stood up and announced, "It's done."

"I'm buying, drinks are on me." Rick proclaimed. Everything had worked out perfectly. He wasn't involved in a death, something that would end him being Santa. In fact he'd stopped people from being killed. It was a win in his eyes.

"I'm in." Kate was ready to celebrate. She would celebrate with Castle alone in their cabin later.

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Kate had her coffee with vanilla and Irish Whisky. Shrom and Vile had their whiskey and Rick had his Paris orange-colored drink.

Kate raised her glass. "We caught a killer!"

"We got an assassin suit out of circulation." Shrom and Vile raised their glasses. Shrom was already planning how he was going to get to keep that suit. He was thinking it might come in handy some day.

Rick raised his glass. "To Christmas." It was the one thing that mattered most to him.

"I expect to get an invitation," Vile mentioned after drinking.

"Invitation? To what?" Did she really want to see Bracken executed, if they still did that.

Shrom knew what his wife was talking about. "Your wedding, Pink Skin."

"Our what?!" Rick croaked, not believing he had heard correctly.

"I'll even hand deliver it if I can," Kate replied, straight-faced. She began laughing at the look on Castle's face. Kate knew she wasn't ready to get married yet. It was just a lot of fun to play with Castle.

Shrom had seen the look on Pink Skin's face and was willing to pile on. "We even have just the place for you two."

"Yes! Where we got married," Vile enthused. "In front of the freezing water of Baikal with the ice covered mountains of Druzby in the distance. It was beautiful!" Vile had loved her wedding.

"And then it snowed!" Shrom had loved that part of the wedding.

"It was amazing!" Vile leaned over to kiss Shrom. She loved him more than she had words for. He was perfect for her.

Kate started laughing her ass off at the look on Castle's face. It was totally priceless. Then she almost fell out of her seat when Rick glared at her.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Rick was sitting on the bed later that night while Kate was stripping off her clothes with the intent of making love to him. "That was so not funny," he commented, his voice sounding kind of off.

It left Kate in the dark for a moment. Then she walked right up to him, took his head in her hands, and bent down to kiss him. She straightened up and poker-faced said, "You're right, it wasn't funny…, it was totally hilarious." She couldn't help but grin and laugh a little..

Rick just sat there and brooded, not doing anything at all.

Finally realizing something was wrong, she asked, "You don't want to marry me? Or do you not want to marry anyone at all?" Did they not have a future together? She really saw herself being with him for the rest of her life. That meant getting married. She still wasn't sure about having children, but they could talk about that.

"Get married in the frozen waste lands?" He shook his head. "I thought getting married was supposed to be my idea. I'm supposed to ask your dad for his approval and then ask you. Not make fun of the entire event." He was still put off by it all.

It struck her right in her heart. She wasn't sure she could love him more, but suddenly she did. She stepped back up to him and leaned his head against her breasts.

"I'm sorry, Rick." It had been funny, but now it wasn't.

"A stream to stand in front of I can see. With a mountain range in the background, sure. But in the frozen wasteland? …I was thinking more about being on a beach somewhere. Then we could do it again in the North Pole so all the elves could take part in it," Rick said softly as he shared his heart.

Kate felt tears welling up. He was actually talking about getting married. And not just get married but doing it twice _and_ where he wanted it. She couldn't love him more.

"Have you even thought about this? We're talking about you being Mrs. Claus," he said

That had her freezing in her tracks. He was right. If or when she married him she was going to be Mrs. Claus. "Won't I actually be Mrs. Castle?" After all that was his name.

"For 355 days out of the year, yes. But you'll also be Mrs. Claus and all that entails," Rick assured her. Was she truly ready to be that?

Kate continued to hold his head tight to her bare breasts. "Are you asking me, Rick?" Was this him asking her to marry him? Because if it was her answer was going to be yes. She knew that for sure.

"Your father first." He had to get past that hurdle before anything else happened. What if her dad didn't like him?

It was like she had read his mind when she murmured, "My dad's going to love you." Kate was sure of it. Actually she was pretty sure he would love anyone that she loved this much.

"What about your mom? What if she wants to hit me with a rolling pin?" Rick asked and teased her a little.

Kate rested her head on top of his. "Mom was killed when I was nineteen. The police said it was gang related. It was what got me to be a police officer. I wanted to find out who killed her." She hadn't ever talked to any of her boyfriends about it, much less Will, and yet there she was, telling Castle.

Rick looked up at her. "I'm so sorry, Kate. Maybe together we can find out who did it."

"I've been content with never finding out." She was going down the rabbit hole far too often and it was killing her. She really didn't have a choice. Then suddenly she saw the hole yet again and couldn't stop herself. "Do you think your Santa magic can do something?" She really didn't want to hope but couldn't help herself. Bringing whoever killed her mom to justice meant everything to her.

"I, or we, need to get back to the North Pole. My magic is far more powerful there. It's limited here," he explained.

Suddenly Kate was willing to jump back into the rabbit hole. Maybe this time she wouldn't be doing it alone. "But you turned back time here." That sounded like powerful magic to her. Wait, what was she thinking? Real magic didn't exist. Except she had evidence that it did and Santa was the cause of it. The person she had stopped believing in years ago.

"That was easy. What we're talking about is going to require some serious magic," Rick asserted and kept looking up at her.

"Dad lives in New York City. You can ask him after our train trip," Kate urged since they were both going to be there soon.

"In a hurry to get married are we?" he teased with a smile.

"Yes, …well, no, …but maybe." She huffed a frustrated breath. "You're sure we can do this?" Kate meant find out who killed her mother.

"Get married? See Bracken end up in prison for life? Have your dad say yes? Or find out who killed your mother? What about make living in the North Pole and you working in New York work for us?" What part was she talking about?

She laughed at it all. "Yes!" This time she did mean all of it. "Marry me, Rick. I'll talk my dad into saying yes." He didn't really have to ask him. Even if it was really sweet of him.

"In the frozen wasteland or on a beach?" Rick questioned cautiously.

Kate grinned at him. "You're trying really hard to get me in a bikini, aren't you?" She was thinking he wanted her in a bikini on a beach to get married.

"I've got you naked in my arms. We _could_ get married on the beach…naked." He smiled up at her.

"In your dreams, Christmas boy." She wasn't getting married naked. On a beach or anywhere else for that matter.

"Pity, l like you naked." He kept teasing her. "You'll look amazing naked in the North Pole."

"Now you're just being silly." Kate pushed him so that he was laying back on the bed then crawled up his body so she could kiss him.

"Make love to me, Mr. Castle." She smiled sweetly and kissed him. Then she squealed when Rick flipped them and put her on her back.

"My pleasure, Mrs. Castle." Rick put his soul into kissing her; Kate kissed him back with everything she had while she dreamed of being his wife.

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 _January 2nd_

Kate woke up and found Rick spooning her behind her. She snuggled back a little to get a little deeper into his spoon. It felt amazingly good. With Will and all of her other boyfriends or even the one night stands, she'd always hated having them spend the night. Now she didn't want to do anything else but spend time with him.

"You awake?" Rick asked softly.

Kate quietly chuckled. "No." She bit her lip to keep from laughing even louder. He was so sweet and fun.

"Then I guess we won't talk about it." He let go of her and turned onto his back.

She quickly rolled over so she could look at him. "Talk about what?" They had already talked about a lot of things. Something she thought she was terrible at. Just not with him. They had even talked about getting married and they had only known each other… She had to try using fingers to count the days what with this starting all over stuff.

"About what we're going to do for the next several days. We have an entire train trip to finish," he explained. Not that she wanted to talk.

Kate snuggled in closer and laid her hand on his chest. "I have an idea." It was brilliant. She just wasn't sure how they were going to do it.

" _You_ have an idea?" Rick grinned and sneaked a kiss.

She swatted his chest. "I have ideas. Really good ideas." She was a little put out.

He grabbed the offending hand and kissed it. "Of course you do. So what's your idea?"

Kate wanted to swat him again but he was holding that hand and kissing it. "We could stay in our cabin, stay naked like you want me, and make love the entire time." She fluttered her lashes at him. "I bet I could outlast you." She kissed the closest exposed skin she could get her lips on.

"Sex, more sex, followed by still more sex. That's your plan, …sex? When do we eat?" It sounded interesting if not exactly practical.

"You could eat me and well…, I could give you blow jobs. We should be able to sustain each other. Come on, Santa baby, use some of your magic." She snuggled in closer.

He thought about it. "You do taste pretty good." He was willing to admit that, but how was that going to replace the need for food? Then suddenly her body began shaking. Alarmed, he raised up to look at her. She giggled, chortled, and finally laughed out loud.

"Gotcha!" Kate couldn't believe he had fallen for it. Hook, line, and sinker.

"OH, YOU!" Rick retaliated by tickling her which had her squirming all over the bed to get away from his fingers while laughing her ass off. "You want sex, sex, and still more sex, do you?" Rick rolled over on top of her and started kissing her all over. "Sex, huh?"

Kate wrapped her arms around him. "Yep, now stop talking and make love to me, Santa."


	10. Chapter 10

**Christmas Train**

 **Chapter 10**

 _January 2nd_

Kate couldn't believe she was going to say this but… "Castle, can we go sing some of those Christmas songs and drink Christmas drinks?" She didn't know what was possessing her but suddenly it was what she wanted to do.

Rick twisted his head to look at her since she was lying half on him already. So far they had been trying out her idea of sex during the day and sex during the night. He thought he was actually getting better.

"So I win?" He smiled widely as he teased her.

"What! Win what?" What was he winning? Then it hit her. She'd bet him that she would outlast him in spending the entire trip having sex and that he couldn't keep up with her. "NO! Definitely not." There was no way she was admitting defeat. "We're just… I want to sing Christmas songs." Kate got up on her knees and looked down at him. "We can come right back and I'll fuck your brains out. You definitely didn't win."

"Sure sounds like I won. That or we stay here and have more sex." Rick smiled gleefully; he was sure he had just won.

"So you're telling me that Santa Claus doesn't want to go sing Christmas songs with his… his…girlfriend." He hadn't proposed and they weren't married so that only left her with one thing to call _them._

"Santa only exists for one day a year and Richard Castle wants to stay and have sex with his…" Kate was far more than his girlfriend. So much more than that. That tipped the scales. He got out of bed.

"YES! Christmas songs here we come." She'd won and was happy about it.

But when she reached the edge of the bed she saw Rick stop and pick up his overnight bag. It did remind her of a question she had. How had he gotten her those dresses that fit her perfectly, the jewelry and shoes, the Christmas decorations that their room was now filled with along with all the Christmas lights? She actually hadn't seen him put them up.

"Castle?" She watched him open it, reach in, and take something out. Then he came over to her and dropped to one knee in front of her. She sucked in a breath and felt her heart stop. OH GOD! Was he about to do what she thought he was? He'd said he wanted to ask her dad first.

"I'm doing this backwards but I can't just introduce you to people as my girlfriend. You mean far more than that to me. So…" Rick took a deep breath, produced the little box, and opened it. "Katherine Houghton Beckett, if you would, please do me the very great honor of being my wife. For the rest of our lives. Be Mrs. Castle and once a year, be Mrs. Claus and live with me in the North Pole."

Kate placed both hands over her mouth and gazed at the ring. He was! He had! She looked from him to the ring. She felt her tears start then run down her cheeks like rivers.

He was so handsome and so kind. She looked at the ring and it looked different somehow. It looked a bit old, perhaps it was vintage or an antique, but there was something else to it. She still had her hands over her mouth. "Castle?" She leaned closer to look closer at the ring. There was something…

"You see it, don't you." To him it meant she was perfect. She actually saw it. Lily was going to have kittens when she found out.

"Castle, …is that? What _is_ that?" Her eyes were trained on the diamond in the center. She thought she saw something. She looked even closer.

"That's the North Pole. Where you'll be living." Rick took the ring out of the box, set the box on the floor, and reached for her hand. Then he slid the ring on her finger.

Kate raised her hand to look at the ring even closer. "That's the North Pole?" It looked HUGE! She had always thought it was just a simple workshop where Santa and the few elves worked and lived. This place wasn't small. It was ENORMOUS!

She stopped looking into the diamond and looked at Rick. Her heart was no longer beating fast and she had no trouble breathing. She loved him and this was exactly where she was supposed to be.

Her tears were still flowing strong. "Yes." Kate barely got the word out. She loved him and didn't believe she could ever love anyone this much. She launched herself at him, wrapped her arms around him, and let herself cry.

She had no idea how he had made his way into her closed off heart so quickly and so deeply. "I love you," Kate whispered as her tears kept trailing down her face.

Rick wasn't sure what her response would be, but having her crying was a bit of a mix. He hated that he had made her cry but she sounded happy and more importantly, she'd said yes.

"I love you, too, Kate. Always." He held her close, letting her cry and calm down.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

They were showered, dressed, and walking down the hallway toward the dining car. Kate was walking with her head held high and with purpose. She also had her arm latched onto Rick's arm. She felt amazing and really, truly loved.

The man stopped them at the entrance. "Names?"

"Richard Castle and Kate Beckett," Rick replied.

"Right this way." He walked down the aisle with them close behind.

"He meant Mrs. Castle," Kate whispered to him since she was really looking forward to her new name. Rick positively beamed. Then he remembered Lily and what she was going to do to him.

Rick let Kate get in first then sat down across from Shrom and Vile who had gotten there first and already had drinks.

"Well, where have you two been?" Vile inquired since after locking up Bracken they'd disappeared.

Rick answered her. "We've been busy."

"Yeah, having sex. Lots and lots of sex." Kate held out her left hand for them to see.

Vile snatched it and looked at it. "What have you done now, Pink Skin?" Shrom looked at the ring while his wife held Kate's hand.

"It's gorgeous." Vile like her own ring but Kate's was really nice.

"It's an heirloom. It's been in the family for a long, long time." Rick meant Santa Claus and Kate looked at him since she thought she knew just what he was talking about.

"You two have been busy." Vile let go of Kate's hand and went back to observing her new friends.

"Needed food so you could recover?" Shrom thought he was teasing.

"Yep, because we're not done yet. Castle hasn't yet admitted defeat." Kate was grinning as she teased him.

"You were the one that wanted to come eat. I was willing to stay for more. I'm the one that won." Rick was sure of it.

"Keep dreaming, Christmas boy." She wasn't done with him yet.

"These two are going to disappear on us again, aren't they?" Shrom grumbled. Vile started to nod. "Better admit defeat while you can, Pink Skin."

"NEVER!" Rick proclaimed just as their waiter arrived to get their drinks.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

"So is Will still locked in his room?" Kate didn't want him to escape. If he got his suit back she was positive he would go on a killing spree.

"He cursed at us when we knocked and checked the seal. He's still in there." Vile was convinced he was never getting out. Not unless someone blew the door off.

"Did we even give him his clothes back?" Kate couldn't remember. She was thinking they had just dragged him down there, gave him some food and water and a couple buckets to do his business in, and that was it. That cabin didn't come with its own bathroom.

"NO!" Shrom started laughing. It meant Bracken was going to be in those clothes for twelve whole days and have to put up with what he did into those buckets. "It's great isn't it!" It meant they couldn't get his clothes to him now. He was stuck.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Rick and Kate had loved the meal and meeting with their friends. But they were gone now and had left Shrom and Vile still in the dining car.

"Did those two bet on how much sex they could have and who would win?" Shrom asked his wife. Vile looked at her husband. "You're on!" Shrom started pushing his wife to get up and followed her to their room. Bracken's old room. "Pink Skin has the best ideas."

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Kate was resting on Castle. She was really beginning to think she would lose the bet. So far he was keeping up with her, though she thought he was cheating. He had managed to give her several orgasms with his head planted firmly between her legs.

But she was willing to admit that he was getting a whole lot better at making love to her with all this practice. However, she was learning a few things about him, too. She was learning where his sensitive spots were.

"Ready to admit defeat?" Rick asked since she was resting on top of him.

"In your dreams, Castle. So you admit that you didn't win earlier," Kate teased.

"I admitted no such thing," he insisted. "I'm just trying to get _you_ to admit it."

"Not until you're really, really old, Castle, and maybe not even then," she countered, though she still wasn't moving.

"Good thing I'm Santa then." He was going to live a long time so long as he remained Santa.

That had Kate lifting her head to look at him. "How long are you going to live?" Would she die of old age long before he did? She didn't much like that idea.

"Santas live a long time," he confirmed. "So do their Mrs. Clauses." That gave her something to think about.

"They do?" Kate hadn't really thought about that. "Marry me, Castle. Maybe we can find someone on this train to officiate." She suddenly wanted to live just as long as he did, if not a little longer.

Surprise was writ large all over Rick's face. "Are you serious? You're willing to piss off your dad?"

That had Kate thinking. Her dad would be really hurt and disappointed with her for not letting him walk her down the aisle. Maybe she could find a way to make it up to him. Instead of answering his question, she gave him one of hers. "Can I tell Dad that you're Santa and that I'm living in the North Pole?" She really wasn't looking forward to lying to him.

"I'm afraid not. We need to keep our existence a secret; it's how we stay safe. Your dad might not tell anyone but we can't risk it. …Please understand." Rick hoped she didn't get upset with him. "Unless your dad was to move with you."

"Dad's a lawyer. I'm not sure he wants to quit his job." Maybe her dad wasn't going to get to know. "Can you move him like you're going to move me?" Maybe that would work.

Rick was shaking his head. Kate went back to lying on top of him. "I was afraid you'd say that." She would think of something. Then she lifted her head back up. "You're telling me, though." He was taking a risk with her so why not her dad?

"I'm marrying you, I'm not marrying your dad. Family doesn't count unless they live there and nowhere else. He needs to be willing to move," Rick explained.

Kate went back to resting on top of him. Then she got back up. "How do I get him to move if I can't tell him anything about the North Pole?" She was trapped in a catch-22.

"Sounds like you have a problem." Rick wasn't much help.

"Thanks a bunch." Kate lay back down and sighed. She needed a plan. How to get her dad to move somewhere where he couldn't be a lawyer without telling him anything about the place.

"Castle, tell me more about the North Pole. Do you have schools?" Maybe she could convince her dad to be a teacher.

"You got a glimpse of the place in your ring. We have everything any city would have, we just don't have pollution. We have places to shop, movie theaters, schools, sports, any number of things. It's mostly what we don't have that makes us different. We don't have cars, we don't have businesses since our only business is to make toys, we don't have any violence or jails or prisons." That had Kate lifting her head back up to look at him.

"How do you do that?" It sounded perfect but how did they manage that?

"We don't have money, either. We don't use it. Everything we have, we make. All of it's available to everyone who wants it. There's no reason to steal. We have doctors and hospitals, entertainment, you name it. You'll see." Rick was sure she would love the place.

"Lawyers?" Was she that lucky? Except she watched Rick shake his head. She went back to resting on him. So much for that thought.

"I'm sorry, Kate, but my hands are tied." He couldn't risk all of their lives or the magic of Christmas.

"It's not your fault. I'll think of something." She had no idea what it was going to be at the moment. But if she didn't want to keep secrets from her dad she needed to think of something.

Kate lifted her head so she could kiss him. Then kissed him again. "Ready for another round, Castle?" She smiled at him since he was going down no matter how long it took.

She squealed when Rick spun her onto her back then found him above her yet again. "You're going to admit defeat eventually," he said.

She was all set to counter his statement when suddenly his erection was buried deep inside her. So all that came out was a moan of pleasure. Kate was soon lost in yet another orgasm as she raked her nails down his back causing Rick to climax inside her yet again.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

They were both now resting on their backs side by side. "I need a break," Rick admitted.

"Conceding defeat, are you, Castle?" She really hoped so since she was tired and getting really sore. She didn't want to think about if she was going to be able to walk tomorrow. Or was it today since she had lost track of time?

He corrected his statement. "A bathroom break, that's all." He wasn't willing to admit defeat. Especially when he had already won. He just couldn't get Kate to concede.

Rick groaned as he rolled over and almost fell out of bed before making it to his feet. He actually needed this break for more than one reason. He was starting to really feel that he was going to lose this bet. Kate was better at this than he was.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Rick was sitting on the toilet even if he didn't need to. He needed a break. Eventually he got up to wash. That was when he saw all the marks on his body. After twisting a little he saw the marks on his back from Kate's nails. She had really done a number on him. "I'm going to need medical treatment soon." Then he put his hands on the counter and bent over. "From this train's doctor." He shuddered. He didn't have any more faith in that quack than Kate did.

Then there was a knock on the door. "Are you done yet? It's my turn." She needed to pee and soon.

Rick groaned since it looked like his break was over. He shuffled over and opened the door to find a naked Kate standing there. "It's all yours." He headed for the bed so he could lie down and take another break.

Kate sat down and saw some of herself in the mirror. Getting up after she was done wasn't easy. Much like it was getting out of bed. If she was capable of walking tomorrow, if it was still tomorrow, she was going to be shuffling her feet.

That was when she saw herself in the mirror. She had a hickey on her neck, one on each breast. Bending over with a little difficulty she found two more of them on her thighs. Since there was a hand mirror Kate grabbed it to look at her core. She found her nether lips red and angry-looking.

She put the mirror down and looked at the woman in the mirror. "Maybe we can call it a draw." It had been unbelievably fun and completely pleasurable, but she was going to pay for this tomorrow and she wasn't even drunk.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Meanwhile in another cabin. "Ready to admit defeat, husband?" Vile inquired as he was resting on his back just like she was.

Shrom was tired and not sure he had another erection in him. Still… "You do remember who you're talking to, right?" Did she really think he was going to surrender? Even if it was her.

Vile was afraid he would say that. She knew him well. "Bathroom break?" she requested.

Shrom thought about it. "You have two minutes." He wasn't going to allow her to sit on the toilet for the next twenty or more minutes so she could rest. But if she did he could rest on the bed.

Vile moaned as she rolled out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom. "Two minutes," he reminded her and chuckled softly at the look she gave him.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Kate came back out wondering how she was going to cover all of her hickeys. The only good thing she could really count on was the fact that the train didn't have a pool so she didn't have to wear a bikini and show off all of them.

She found Castle right where she'd left him: lying on his back on their bed. Kate crawled onto the bed and landed next to him. She hated to admit it but tomorrow was going to be hell. Tonight might be hell if he had one more erection in him. She was already sore and the trip to the bathroom had only reinforced that.

"How about a tie?" Kate asked wearily.

"Admitting defeat?" Rick wasn't willing to let go just yet.

"Castle." It was as close as she was going to come to pleading.

"Fine, a tie. …IF you agree to join me in singing Christmas songs tomorrow." He was Santa after all.

"Fine! I'll sing Christmas songs with you." She wasn't big on singing but at least he hadn't asked her to dance with him.

Bodies tired and sore, both of them lay on the bed, naked and on their backs, waiting for sleep to take them.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Vile was sore and walking to the bathroom had shown her just how much. Walking was going to be no fun tomorrow. She crawled onto the bed so she could lay next to her husband who was still on his back. He was also soft.

"How about a tie, husband?" At least neither of them lost this way even if neither of them won.

"Just don't tell Pink Skin." He would never survive being teased by him. "Or Kate." She might bond with Kate and tell her everything.

"Deal!" Vile would keep her mouth closed. At least until her husband pissed her off by doing something. Then all bets were off.

It allowed both of them to just lay there and let sleep find them. "Pink Skin." He was sure this was his fault.


	11. Chapter 11

**Christmas Train**

 **Chapter 11**

 _January 4th_

Kate was shuffling along after taking a shower, drying off, and slipping into her underwear. The entire process was taking what felt like forever. Every step reminded her of what she had done yesterday. And it wasn't just each step. Somehow muscles she didn't even know she had were screaming at her.

She was trying to figure out how to put her bra on when Castle came out of the bathroom, mostly dry. She bit her lower lip when she noticed that he was walking carefully. Well, actually moving everything carefully.

Kate spun and put her back to him. "Help me, babe." She tried to move her hands to show him the problem but that also hurt a bit. She heard him moan, but then she felt him hook her bra. "Thanks, Castle." She turned, lifted up on her toes to give him a quick kiss, and muffled a groan. Now she had to finish getting dressed for breakfast. Or was it lunch already? No matter, she needed food since she was starving to death. She was betting she'd lost at least five pounds since yesterday.

She was sitting on the bed trying to figure out how she was going to get into her blue jeans. She may have lost weight but they still felt a little tight. That was when she heard Rick groan as he bent to pick up the shirt he'd dropped.

When he stood up that was when she saw them. "OH, RICK!" Kate forgot her own pains as she stood up and traced her fingertips over the marks on his back. "Did I do this? I'm so, so sorry." She couldn't remember ever doing that before. He didn't need stitches but they looked ugly.

She bent down to kiss the first one and heard Rick groan from pain. "OH, BABY!" She had done that and it was causing a new pain she'd never felt before. "I think I've got a travel first aid kit somewhere. Don't move." She started digging through her luggage for it.

Not moving sounded just fine to Rick. He had muscles he didn't even know he had that were screaming at him. "Found it!" She opened it and unintentionally dumped its contents onto the bed. Still it allowed her to find what she wanted. It was a tiny tube but at least she had some.

She squeezed some out onto her finger. "This is gonna sting a little." She scrunched up her face since this was going to cause him still more pain. The second she touched him he sucked in a deep breath but didn't moan. "Sorry!" She spread it across one of the eight lines on his back. "I'm so sorry, babe." She was working on the last one just as her little tube ran dry. "There, all done." She looked at his back and now the lines were even redder than when she'd started. "I'm really sorry." She didn't even remember doing it but who else could have done it but her?

"I'll live." Rick turned, gently kissed her, and got to work on his buttons.

Kate went back to trying to get into her blue jeans. Eventually she succeeded but now she had a new problem: putting on her own shoes! "Babe?" She held up a foot and showed him an ankle sock and her tennis shoe. "Please."

He gave her a look but took the sock, pulled it on her foot, and put on her shoe. He couldn't resist teasing her. "You want me to tie your shoe laces, too?" He saw the look she was giving him. "Yes, ma'am. Tying your shoes."

Rick slipped on his other shoe. "Ready." He stood up and joined Kate at the door.

Kate ignored the pain and placed her arms around his neck. "Yesterday was amazing! …But can we not do that again today?" She was sure she wouldn't be able to even get out of bed if they even tried.

"Christmas songs all day instead?" Rick smiled at her.

"Sure." It meant she didn't have to move much so it should be easy.

He kissed her quickly. "Love you."

"Love _you_ _!_ _"_ she replied happily then opened the door and started toward the dining car.

Rick followed her and didn't miss that she was holding onto things as she walked. He grinned a little since he was betting he was the cause of it. It might have been a tie, but she was paying a price for yesterday. Then he stifled a groan as suddenly one of his muscles screamed at him. Maybe it _was_ a tie.

They were first, it seemed, unless Shrom and Vile had already eaten or weren't coming. So Kate took one side and Rick the other. They both groaned a little as they sat down and waited for their waiter to order drinks.

Kate found the largest breakfast that they served and ordered that. "Hungry?" Rick teased.

"Starving, actually." She wasn't even sure this breakfast was going to be enough.

It sounded bad but… "I'll have the same." Rick said and saw Kate smiling at him. "I need the energy for when we do that again."

She quietly moaned. "I've created a monster."

"And you love him," he reminded her.

"Yeah, I do." Kate reached across the table to take both his hands.

They were still holding hands when their food showed up. Kate reconsidered it not being enough. It was maybe too much actually. Regardless, they both dug in with gusto.

Then Kate saw Shrom and Vile enter the car. It was odd that both of them were moving really slowly and Vile was literally shuffling like Kate had been doing.

"Babe." Kate nodded toward them which had Rick twisting and groaning to take a look. He moved his plate and his ass to make room. Kate did the same.

They watched as the two of them slowly sat down and heard them groaning softly.

"What happened to you two?" Kate was curious.

"Pink Skin," Shrom simply stated.

Rick's jaw dropped. "What did I do?" He and Kate had been in their cabin all day. He hadn't had time to do anything.

Vile leaned into Kate since they were sitting side by side and whispered into her ear for a few seconds. Kate smiled widely, then bit her lower lip, and put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

Shrom glared at her that if she said anything he was going to skin her alive. Kate did her best to keep her mouth shut then mimed zipping it closed.

"Andorian Whiskey and I'll have what they're having," Shrom told the waiter. The whiskey was to kill the pain and the food was needed to recover some lost energy.

Vile gave her order. "I'll have what he's having."

"Is Bracken still in his room?" Kate queried between bites.

"We'll look after eating, but unless he has explosives on him that we didn't find or he opens a window which would kill him, there's no where else for him to go." Vile was certain of that.

Then the waiter was back. "I'm so sorry but we're out of Andorian Whiskey." They only had the one bottle and hadn't really expected for anyone to drink it.

Shrom let his head land on the table in front of him. Even if the action did cause a little pain.

Rick glanced at the waiter and made a decision for them. "They'll have the thirty-year-old Pappy Van Winkle Whiskey. Put it on my bill."

"Yes, sir." He scurried away before Shrom killed him.

"It's expensive, you'll like it," Rick promised. "So what are your plans for the day?" He was going to invite them to Christmas carols if they weren't doing anything.

Shrom yawned loudly. "Sleep! ALL DAY!" Kate clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Rick saw her and didn't understand but he kept his mouth closed.

He and Kate were done and just sat there talking while waiting for Shrom and Vile to finish.

Then they all had to get up. All four of them groaned as their muscles complained. "We'll see you two tomorrow. It's our last day. It's also the last event for us to see." Rick didn't want to miss it.

"We'll be there, Pink Skin," Shrom assured him. He and Vile walked toward Bracken's cabin. "If I don't kill myself first," he muttered. Vile leaned into him as the walked. She was with him.

"Christmas songs?" Rick was ready.

"Lead the way, Castle." Kate stepped in behind him.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Kate hadn't planned on having fun singing. She had only agreed to appease Castle. However, there she was singing joyfully while Rick played the piano. She might never admit it, but his enthusiasm was infectious.

When Castle stopped playing some prerecorded songs took over for him. The next thing she knew she had her arms around Castle and was dancing slowly with him. This time she did her best to bury herself into him and hold him as tight as possible. She was at peace. Being in his arms was very soothing. Any troubles she even thought she had all drifted away. She was completely content.

When the music sped up she guided Castle over to a table where they could sit. "Be right back." Rick walked away. She watched where he went, wondering just where he was going. Until she saw him stop at the bar. She turned back around and watched the others dance.

Then a glass coffee cup was placed in front of her. "One coffee with vanilla, Irish whisky and a mystery spice for you and a little something for me."

"Thanks, babe." It was just what she needed; she took a sip, feeling it slide down her throat and hit her system. She still didn't know what his mystery spice was but for the moment she didn't care. It simply tasted good.

"So all of that is in that little bag of yours." She meant her dresses, the decorations and lights, and all of his clothes. She didn't know what else could be inside it.

He grinned. She hadn't seen anything yet. "You should see what fits in my big bag."

Kate looked at him and mouthed "Big bag?" Then it hit her. He meant his Santa bag filled with presents for all the boys and girls in the world. "Ohhh."

She had already learned that he used reindeer to pull his sleigh and that those same reindeer were descendants of the original reindeer. She had seen a tiny display of the North Pole complex where she would soon be living. Her mind wandered and she found herself wondering what it would be like and was a little apprehensive. It was going to change her life in the extreme.

Rick saw something. "What's wrong? Did he not make it right?" He was thinking it was the drink.

"What?" She had been caught in her own mind. "No, the drink's fine. …I was just thinking."

"Care to share with the class?" He was willing to listen.

"Maybe later." She still wasn't use to sharing her thoughts with anyone. She loved him but letting him into her head was another thing. Thankfully he was satisfied with her answer. It told her she still had a lot of work to do, though. She wanted to share, she did. It just wasn't that easy for her.

"So tell me about this job of yours. What do you do?" He knew her job title, but not what she actually did.

"I work with Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito. Together we work to find out who killed someone when we get a case. It's basically one big mystery that needs to be solved. Some are a lot harder to solve than others. We interview people, friends, family, others that were in the area.

"The reasons vary a lot. Most are personal and acts of passion. A few are for money or love. Mostly it's men but a few are women.

"There's also Lanie Parish. She's an ME and my best friend. We've been friends for a long time." Rick saw her suddenly look sad. "I can't tell her anything about you, can I? I'm going to have to lie to all my friends. Even my dad." Kate abandoned her drink and brooded about what she was going to have to do.

"I am sorry, love, truly. It's just that our secrecy is imperative. The more people that know the greater the danger. I'm willing to leave the choice of your father knowing to the others, but your friends, …I'm sorry." The risk was far too great to keep telling people.

"Our only defense is from people, nations, or organizations is to not find us. We don't have a military. We don't kill, not for any reason. If we're found Christmas could be over… _f_ _orever."_ He wasn't risking being the very last Santa Claus. Not even for Kate. This was bigger than his love for her.

"I know, Castle. I do. I… I'm just not going to like it." Kate played with her glass for a while.

"It's not like you can't introduce me. They can see and meet me. They just can't know that one thing about me." Rick hoped that helped a little.

"So I can call you for you to join us for lunch or drinks after work?" That would help immensely.

"Every day of the week if you want." He held out his hand. "Unlock your phone and hand it over." He took her phone and began pressing the keyboard. Then he handed it back to her. "There, now you have my number. You can reach me no matter where I am. I can be there in seconds. Just be ready. I'll show up right where you are. Where your phone is, actually. It wouldn't look good for it to start snowing and me to show up in the snow in front of them."

Kate looked at her phone and found his name in her Favorites. "Thanks, babe!" She felt a little better about it all now. "Where I am and in just seconds. What if you're busy? If you're in the middle of an emergency?"

"There's no one more important than you, love. Even if I show up just to tell you why I have to go right back, I'll be there." Rick would show up no matter what.

That was enough for her. She got up so she could kiss him. "I love you, Rick."

"I love you, too. Give it a chance, Kate. We just need to work out the kinks. We can make it work." That earned him another kiss. "Ready for another dance?" He held out his hand.

"Yes." She took his hand and followed him out onto the dance floor. She allowed herself to melt into his arms and reveled in him holding her close. She didn't know she could feel like this. Was this what her mother and dad had before she was taken from them?

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Vile looked at her husband who was lying naked next to her on their bed. "What do we do when this trip ends? We're armed, counter to regulations." They hadn't as yet questioned why their room was filled with Christmas decorations and Christmas lights. They simply assumed that since this was a first class cabin that it came that way.

"What weapons?" Shrom answered. Vile glared at her husband. Just what was he thinking? They were clearly armed. Even a few of the train's employees had seen it. They'd watched her seal the door with hers.

Then it hit her. "Before or after we free Bracken from his room?" Vile turned her head back around to stare at the ceiling that was filled with Christmas decorations.

"Before we reach the station. Once we do they're going to call the local authorities and they're going search us to find them. They won't, naturally." He had no intention of being arrested for carrying a weapon.

She saw a problem with his logic. "We did seal the door."

"But not with a weapon. Did we actually show anyone our weapons? For all anyone knows we used a torch to seal the door. Which with a little work we can make using parts from our two weapons," Shrom explained.

Vile had to admit that it was possible. Their weapons were very small and hidden in their hands. They hadn't actually shot anyone. She only sealed the door. The torch would end up just as small. Even Bracken never saw a weapon. They could simply claim they duped him into thinking they had a weapon to blow a hole in him with.

"I'll get started in the morning. Shouldn't take too long. …Who's going to unseal the door to get him out?" They would be able to do it if her change got it to work. She could simply say that they used up the power sealing the door.

"They can. I'm done with him." Shrom was willing to let the local authorities figure out how to get him out of that sealed room.

They were quiet for a time. "We need to talk with Kate and Castle and get our stories straight. Kate's less likely to tell a lie than we are," Vile warned.

"Actually I was thinking Pink Skin was less likely." Pink Skin was easy to get along with, but he was way too soft to Shrom's thinking.

"They're perfect for each other. …We're going to need a lot of sunscreen for their wedding," Vile commented which had her husband laughing his head off.

"We're going to look like hell!" Their blue skin was going to turn white from the sunburn.

"We'll think of something." She didn't want to end up white either.

"How are we keeping the suit?" She knew her husband well.

"You leave that to me. That thing is ours now. It might come in really handy some day." It was far too powerful to just hand over to the local authorities. Who knew what they would do with it. Probably destroy it. That was _not_ acceptable.

"Still think this trip was a waste?" Her husband hadn't been in favor of it.

Shrom hated it when his wife was right, but she was right. But he wasn't admitting defeat. "It's not over yet." That earned him a punch to his arm. He just smiled in response.


	12. Chapter 12

**Christmas Train**

 **Chapter 12**

 _January 5th_

"What's our last event?" Kate asked while she got dressed for the day after showering and putting on some makeup.

Rich could hardly wait. "A black hole."

"A **WHAT!** Surely you're not serious?" Nothing escaped a black hole, nothing, certainly not them.

"Of course I'm serious, …and don't call me Shirley." Rick tried to hide his smile.

"Very funny! A black hole?" Were they really trying to kill them?

"Ready?" Rick was at the door waiting for her.

"To get crushed to death by incredible gravity? …Sure." Might as well die happy.

"We might come out the other side in another galaxy," Rick said and this time couldn't hide his smile.

"Still not funny, Castle." She wasn't amused but followed him down the hallway. "I didn't even get to say goodbye to my dad," Kate muttered along the way. That had Rick smiling as they walked.

Kate entered the bar car right behind Castle. She was in no hurry to die. Instead she saw that a pair of large screens had been added to the room. They covered up a number of the windows on one side.

"Find us a good spot while I get us something to drink. You want your standard coffee or something more appropriate? Like maybe a _Grim Reaper?_ Oh, I know, an _Undertaker? …_ No, no, how about a _Liquid Ghost?"_ Rick was having so much fun.

He was so not funny. "My normal coffee is fine, Castle."

"One order of boring, it is." He left her to go get their drinks.

She had never even heard of those drinks. She was sure Castle was making them up just to rile her. Problem was, it was working.

"One order of boring for you." Rick set her glass in front of her with a flourish. "And one order of _Red Death_ for me." He put his glass on the table and sat down.

Kate looked at his drink and sure enough, it was red. "Okay, Castle, what is a _Red Death?_ " It was yet another drink she'd never heard of and she thought she knew her drinks. Though she hadn't done much experimenting since college.

Rick rattled off the ingredients. "It's made using orange juice, pineapple juice, blackberry brandy, whiskey, triple sec, and sloe gin." Then right before his eyes Kate snatched it from in front of him and took a sip.

"Hey, that was mine," Rick protested.

"Kind of fruity tasting, but not bad." She put his drink back down and took a sip of her drink. He'd once again added his mystery spice to it. She did have to admit that he knew his drinks. More than she did.

"So what's going to happen?" she asked since he seemed to know.

"We get sucked down a black hole, naturally," he grinned. She stuck her tongue out at him since he was using her remarks against her. "Honestly, I don't know. I only know what I read about this event. I guess we wait." He sat back and sipped his drink.

They sat there and waited. Rick was about half done with his drink when Kate suddenly said, "Castle! Your face is red!" She bit her lip to hide her smile as he checked his face with his hands.

If he was red he should be hot, but he didn't feel hot. He glared at her. "Very funny!"

She laughed at him. "I thought so." Playing with Castle was fun. Then without warning the lights went out.

"Here we go, Kate. Tell me you love me one last time," Rick asked.

"I think I'm starting to hate you," she snarked and smiled widely since it was hard to see anyone, let alone Castle.

The screens came to life and showed something. It was really a whole lot of blackness. A crew member came over the speakers and began telling them what they were seeing.

Eventually it was replaced with something else that showed a computer-generated display of what they were seeing. That was the only view that really showed the black hole. They were told it was light years away and this was as close as they were going to come to it. Then the same crew member started telling them about black holes. After that it returned to the normal view that was mostly just a whole lot of black.

"Feel better now?" Rick inquired since she had talked about being worried.

"Better than you, Castle. You're still red," she teased.

He rolled his eyes. "Very funny." His drink wasn't killing him. Though he wasn't going to order another one, just to be safe. Not that he would ever tell her that.

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Rick poked at her as they walked to their cabin. "You really thought we were going to be sucked into a black hole, didn't you?"

"NO! …Maybe. But only a little. A lot has happened on this trip already, you know." She had, after all, come onboard with a boyfriend who turned out to be a killer and now here she was, engaged to someone else. Who just happened to be Santa Claus.

"No objection here. This **has** been one of my more exciting vacations." Rick was willing to admit that.

"Do you always take a vacation after delivering toys?" Kate asked then looked around to see if anyone overheard her.

"Every year without fail, so far. It's my only time off. It took me months to convince the elves to throw a party for themselves with me gone. God knows what they're doing while I'm away." He could only imagine…

"My only hope is that they haven't forgotten about the reindeer. Feed them, water them, pick up after them, that kind of stuff. We only have just so many reindeer." He was kind of hoping that they would let their hair down and have some fun.

"Well maybe they'll burn the whole place down," Kate joked and laughed.

Rick's eyes narrowed; he didn't see what was so funny. "We do have a fire department."

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They were now in one of the seating areas and just people-watching. One or two were shutting out everyone and reading from a pad. "Castle, tell me more about the North Pole." If she was going to live there it would be nice to know at least a little more.

"Well… The place is very, very old but you wouldn't know it to look at it. It's under a massive dome to keep the cold out. Everything, including the fields where we grow crops year round, is under the dome. We have a number of airlocks to get out of the dome, though. The largest one is reserved for the reindeer and the sleigh.

"There's a room way at the top that rarely gets used and there's an elevator dead center of the place to reach it. You wanted to find out more about your mother, that's where we'll be going." It was really the only place.

"Will it work?" She hated getting her hopes up but couldn't help it.

Rick shrugged. "Like I said, we don't use it much. I've only been up there once and that was just to see it. I've never actually used it." He needed to warn her. "It might not work, Kate."

"It needs to work," she told herself softly. It was the only lead she had and she had only just gained it.

"What else? Where does everyone live? How do you buy food?" Then she remembered that they didn't have money. " _Get_ food and other things?

"It depends. If you're a farmer you have a home. If you're one of the toy makers you have an apartment. Actually most everyone lives in an apartment no matter what you do. Even me. It's just that where they're located varies greatly.

"There are places to get the food you need all over the place, either restaurants or grocery stores. Not everyone that lives there is directly involved with toys. We really are a city. We just happen to be filled with elves instead." Rick wasn't sure what else was there.

"We have hospitals, we have veterinarians – people do have pets. We generate trash just like any other city. It's just that almost all of ours is recycled. You wouldn't believe where some of it goes." Rick rolled his eyes over what he had learned over the years.

"Don't arrest us but whenever a movie comes out we get a copy of it and play it in our theaters. The same for TV."

"I'm a homicide detective, Castle, not a copyright enforcer. …It does sound nice, though." Kate was looking forward to exploring it all.

"Everything is Christmas year round. There are Christmas decorations large and small all over. Christmas lights large and small. We even have Christmas trains everywhere. Some of them you can ride while others are quite small. Oh, and there's Christmas music everywhere." It was the North Pole after all.

"Wow, you really love Christmas." Kate wasn't sure she loved Christmas that much.

"It's what we do. You'll get used to it. That or you'll kill yourself." Rick laughed at her a little with his joke.

"Funny, Castle." She went back to people-watching and didn't think about the North Pole again.

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Then they watched as train employees entered the car. Two were handing out cards while two others looked to be collecting money and then handing over a different card.

When they got to Kate she found out that one card talked about options for their final Christmas dinner of the trip. "Some of the options are limited so we need to find out what everyone wants," she was told.

The next group was selling raffle tickets. The raffle tickets were in two parts. One was that if you won you could win one of their items based on how many tickets you purchased.

One was a beverage tub filled with beer from all over. Another was a movie basket filled with Christmas Classics. While another was a fiber optic Christmas tree that emitted a light show of dancing colors along its branches. It used LEDs to illuminate fiber-optic tips that lit a room with twenty-three different displays using seven different colored lights.

The other part was that the more tickets you purchased you stood a better chance of getting the meal of your choice.

"I don't have any money on me." Kate had just realized that she hadn't paid for anything since getting on the train. Especially this second time.

"Everything's charged to your room, miss. You'll pay your bill before you leave the train," the employee said.

"In that case I'll take fifty and I'd like the lamb shanks." Kate had gone through the list and was given her tickets while they took down her name, cabin number, and her dinner choice.

"Good luck."

She looked at her tickets that had come out of a box an employee was carrying around. It was mostly red and had a not-very-Santa-looking Santa in the middle. He had his bag over his shoulder and a wrapped Christmas gift in his other hand. She thought Castle looked so much better as a Santa.

She watched Castle being told and saw him buy tickets. "Good grief, Castle!" It looked like he'd bought every ticket in the box. The employee had to go get another box so he could continue with the other passengers.

"It's for a good cause. Besides I'm going to donate everything I win to the trains' guests. Save for the dinner option. That I'm eating." Rick set his box full of tickets on the floor.

Kate was ready to get up and kiss him for being so kind when another employee came along taking drink orders. Since she could really use a drink she saved her kiss for him for later.

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Kate was wondering what to do next after finishing her drink. The train was only so big and there was only so much to do on it.

She was rescued when another employee walked in and started handing out pieces of paper. Kate took one and read what it said. "A Christmas movie marathon, Castle." She was betting he would be interested in that. Based on the number of movies listed it was going to last until they arrived at the station tomorrow. It started in about half an hour and would last all night long.

Rick took his and read the list.

 _A Christmas Story_

 _Love Actually_

 _A Charlie Brown Christmas_

 _Holiday Affair_

 _The Polar Express_

 _It's a Wonderful Life_

 _The Man who Invented Christmas_

 _The Muppet Christmas Carol_

 _Miracle on 34th Street_

 _Four Christmases_

 _White Christmas_

 _Scrooged_

 _The Nightmare before Christmas_

 _Holiday Inn_

 _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_

 _A Christmas Carol_

 _The Holiday_

 _Arthur Christmas_

 _Joyeux Noel_

 _The Bishops Wife_

 _A Christmas Tale_

 _Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer_

 _It Happened on 5th Avenue_

 _Remember the Night_

 _Frosty the Snowman_

 _Christmas In Connecticut_

Kate was going down the list as well. "I've never even heard of some of these, Castle."

"Then those are the ones we're watching. Just make a note of when they're being shown and we'll be there," Rick said.

"I don't have a pen." She had nothing to mark with. Suddenly a pen fell in her lap. She picked it up and saw that it was a Christmas pen. It was red and green and said Merry Christmas on it. "I kind of expected something more from you, Castle." It was rather plain-looking. Suddenly another pen landed in her lap. This one actually jingled when it landed. It had red and green stripes and had a red pom-pom on one end that had three bells on top of it. One was red, one was green, and one was silver. Kate shook it to get the bells to jingle. "Better, Castle." She used it to put check marks on the ones she didn't recognize. Then threw both pens back at Castle and smiled at him since he had tossed them and she had thrown them at his chest.

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It turned out that they had set up two movie theater areas to show all of the movies in the few short hours remaining. ANd that was just this car. Kate looked at her list then at the list of what movies were being show where. "It looks like I'm going to miss a couple." They were being shown at the same time.

"Pick and choose." It was all Rick could tell her.

Kate sighed and picked her first movie. _The Man who invented Christmas_

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They took a break for bathroom and lunch then went back to watching movies.

Kate decided _Joyeux Noel_ was next. "The Christmas truce during World War I." She had no idea what to expect but this was a surprise.

They had time for one more movie before it was time for their dinner choices. If they won.

 _Arthur Christmas_ was her next choice. "It's animated!" Again she hadn't been expecting that. It turned out to be about Santa's bumbling son, Arthur.

"We're having girls," Rick whispered to her since he didn't want a bumbling son like this guy. That earned him a swat to his chest.

But that did have Kate looking at him while he watched the movie. He was talking about them having children. She really wasn't all that sure about having children but at least she knew he didn't hate them. Then she started kicking herself. Of course he didn't hate children. He was Santa for goodness sake. Still she took peeks at him while they watched the movie. Children?

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They were already seated for dinner when Shrom and Vile joined them.

"What did you two order for dinner?" Rick inquired, wondering how many tickets they'd purchased.

"We won't win. Mr. Big Spender here only bought two tickets." Vile glared at her husband.

"We'll be fine, besides I didn't want any of those baskets." Shrom was willing to take what they got.

"We both ordered prime rib," Vile said.

"I ordered the lamb shanks. Mmm, lamb shanks." Kate could feel her mouth watering already.

Rick sat there quietly and wiggled his fingers so that everyone got what they wanted.

"Have you had a good time?" Kate had completely enjoyed the trip and hoped her new friends had as well.

"It was a bit boring until that assassin suit." Shrom had really enjoyed that part.

"Don't listen to him. It's been fun." Even if she also thought the best part was the assassin suit.

"The assassin suit. Oh, my god…Will!" She had spent most of this trip trying not to think about him. "What's going to happen when we get home?"

"We'll all be detained and questioned. Someone will have to blow his door off to get him out. They'll likely try and threaten us to pay for all the damages. We'll have to explain all we know about an assassin suit and how we know about one. Verify that we didn't plant it on him. Things like that," Vile said.

"Wonderful, that'll take hours." Kate knew she would interrogate all of them if it was her.

"It'll take some time before they release us. However, they'll take his life apart piece by piece. He'll be questioned about who he got the suit from and where. After he's convicted they'll lock him up for life." Shrom knew it was a life sentence to be caught in possession of an assassin suit.

"I wonder if he's killed anyone." She had at least prevented him from killing anyone on this train like he had the first time.

Vile offered her opinion. "Most likely. That's what an assassin suit's for. It isn't called that for nothing, Kate."

"They'll find out who. His entire life's going to fold out in front of him. Even after he's locked up they _will_ keep digging. An assassin suit is the most hated item known." He was still trying to figure out how to keep it for himself.

"What?" Rick noticed an odd look on his friend's face.

"Nothing." Shrom was never going to admit it. If he was caught in possession of one he would get the same treatment. Vile wasn't going to rat out her husband so she said nothing.

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Since tomorrow was going to be a really long day they said their goodbyes now.

Rick handed Shrom something. "Here, call me next time you're on Earth or need something. I owe you for your help with Bracken. Maybe another Christmas vacation somewhere." He was more than willing to take another vacation with his friends.

"We'll think about it, Pink Skin." Shrom couldn't think of anything at the moment but it was a year from now so anything could happen.

"Maybe an invasion; we could bring our ship," Vile offered and started smiling.

"Yes!" Shrom was in. It reminded him why he'd married her. She knew him so well.

"Stop an invasion of Earth. …Great. Little green men." Kate began shaking her head.

"Technically they're gray with big black eyes," Shrom said.

"I thought they were scrawny, with really big heads under a large glass dome, large white eyes that poked out of their heads, no lips, and white teeth. Oh, and they all said, _'Ack, Ack. …Ack, Ack, Ack.'"_ Rick did his best impersonation.

Kate whacked him in the arm. Vile looked lost. "What?" Shrom wasn't following.

Rick moaned; no one liked his joke. "It's a movie called _Mars Attacks._ It's stupid," Kate explained.

"It was great! It had Jack Nicholson in it. It's a classic! I'll send you a copy. You'll love it!" It was full of aliens killing humans. He was sure Shrom would get a kick out of it.

"Don't listen to him." She didn't need her friends to watch something so stupid.

"I'll send it as a Christmas gift." Rick knew Kate couldn't stop him that way. Kate moaned since he was Santa and could probably do it.

"Remember, we found the suit in his cabin. _His_ cabin, not someone else's and he's the only one assigned to that cabin." Shrom needed to make sure everyone had their story straight. Kate however knew she was also assigned to that suite and she was gong to be drilled with quiestions


	13. Chapter 13

**Christmas Train**

 **Chapter 13**

 **Epilogue**

 _January 6th_

Kate had her suitcases on the bed, laying open, and just starting to load them both up with everything that she'd brought with her, when suddenly a tornado took over their room. It collected all of the Christmas decorations, all of the Christmas lights, then it all got sucked into Rick's little overnight bag. She had never seen anything like it. It was one more thing that convinced her that he was Santa. "Are my green dress and shoes in that thing somewhere?" She had really liked that dress.

Rick nodded. "Yep, both of your dresses, actually, along with other things I thought might be useful but didn't need."

"Can you do that with my stuff?" Maybe she didn't need to pack after all.

He shook his head. "Sorry, it only works on Christmas stuff. Now if all your stuff was Christmas related it would work. However, you'll be able to do it yourself when you're Mrs. Claus," Rick said and closed his bag.

"I'll be able to do _that?"_ She hadn't really thought about it. "What else will I be able to do?"

"I don't know. I'm Santa not Mrs. Claus. You'll have to either find out for yourself or ask Lily." He groaned. "Lily! She's so going to rip me a new one for being late."

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Castle. She's an elf, what can she do?" What could a five foot elf do to him?

"You haven't met her." Lily wasn't really going to kill him. He was pretty sure she loved him. But that didn't mean he was going to get to keep his ears…or his ass.

They weren't even done packing yet when there was a knock on their door. There was a pair of train employees waiting. "We're here to escort you both to a room where you will be held until the authorities can talk to you."

It was starting!

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Rick and Kate never saw Shrom or Vile again. They were the only ones held in that room. They also never saw Bracken again. They had no idea how he was removed from his room or even what he looked like. Kate could imagine what he looked like after twelve days, though, and what he smelled like. She smiled at the thought.

Kate knew what to expect since she would have done something similar. They had asked the same questions over and over and over again. They slipped in a new question to break things up. Even Kate was getting tired of it.

Eventually both of them were released, but only after giving them a way to contact them if they had more questions.

"What number did you give them, Castle?" He lived in the North Pole. What area code was that?

"My mother's number. I don't actually live there but she can pass it along," he said as they headed for the first shuttle back to Earth.

"Your _mother?_ You didn't tell me anything about your mother!" Kate was so going to hurt him. "What about your father?" He knew about her parents but hadn't said anything about his. He was so dead!

He shrugged. "I don't know my dad. He left my mother before I was even born. Mother's an actress in New York."

"NEW YO...!" She could have met him in New York before this and didn't! At least she had him now. "Does your mother know you're Santa?"

"Of course, she's my mother," he said, rolling his eyes and continuing toward the shuttle.

"And _my_ dad can't know?" There was something seriously wrong with this picture.

"That's because she convinced the elves that she could be trusted." Rick thought that was obvious.

"So you took her to the North Pole?" How had he gotten past the catch-22?

"Of course not! The elves came to her." Taking his mother to the North Pole when she didn't know anything about it or could be trusted was not possible.

"So if I can convince the elves to go to my dad he can convince them like your mother did. …YES!" She had found a way out of her catch-22. "You are so introducing me to your mother, Castle."

"I'll bring her with me to your dad's place, right after I check in with the elves," he promised.

Kate searched for a piece of paper. "Pen, Castle." She held out her hand until a Christmas pen was in it. She wrote down her dad's address and his phone number. "Here, get there as fast as you can. You have to ask my dad a very important question."

Rick stopped in his tracks. "What if he doesn't like me?"

"Relax, babe, Dad's going to love you. New York, here we come." Kate couldn't wait to see her dad.

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Rick didn't need to knock since he had a key. He had even taken a cab to make it look normal. He didn't see her right away. "Mother?"

"RICHARD!" Martha closed her book, laid it on the sofa, and stood up. She went to him and they hugged. She took his hands in hers. "How are you, son? How was your vacation? You said something about a train this time, I think."

He gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "It was great, Mother! I actually met someone." He was sure she would be happy for him. Though maybe not so happy about how fast they had taken things.

"Really! Come over here and tell me everything." Martha pulled him over to the sofa and sat down. She was bursting with questions. "What's her name?"

"Her name is Kate. She's a homicide detective here in the city." He thought she might like that part.

"Really! That sounds dangerous. So you met on the train. What's she like?" What did her son see in her?

"Kate's special, Mother. She's amazing. She was initially a bit cold but she warmed up quickly. She's a little stubborn and tenacious but she has a heart of gold. She has a really good singing voice even if she doesn't think so." Even he hadn't told her that.

"So you got her to sing Christmas songs with you." That was a good start. "When did you meet her?" Meaning when in the trip did he meet her? How much time did he spend with her?

"That's kind of a long story and complicated." For her it was going to be really complicated.

"Give me the short version." She would weasel the rest out of him over time.

"Well, she came onto the train with a boyfriend who turned out to be the U.S. senator for New York. It was just that he was on the train to kill people." Rick paused as his mother's eyes opened wide. Still she just sat there and listened.

"Kate was trying to find out who was killing people and I was helping her. Unfortunately the train's doctor turned out to be a total quack. He barely knew how to apply a band-aid much less help with forensics." He was willing to see what Kate saw in him.

"We had dinner together, sang songs together, searched for the killer together. That was where I learned to love her." Some of the color left his face as he recalled what happened next. "Then the train blew up and I was forced to reset everything. We were actually on the train for eighteen days instead of just twelve."

"Oh, my! So where was her boyfriend? This U.S. senator from New York?" Martha queried.

"He was the one doing the killing, it turned out." Rick scrunched up his face since that was the bad part.

"Oh my word! A senator? From New York?" It was possible but it made New York look bad and she loved this city. "So what happened next?"

"Kate was the one that found out her boyfriend was the killer so she dumped him. OH, and Shrom and Vile were on the train." Rick almost forgot about them.

"Your alien Andorian friends. I thought they were in the military?" What were they doing on a Christmas Train?

"They are and they were a big help. They were the ones that caught Bracken and locked him in their room until the end of the trip," Rick explained.

Martha had to think that over. "So what does this Kate think about you?" Or was her son crushing on some woman because he had helped her catch a killer?

"Kate loves me, Mother." He saw the look on her face. "We had eighteen days together." He took a deep breath and said, "I proposed and she said yes." Then he saw the shocked look on her face.

"You proposed? After just eighteen days of knowing this woman?" Her son had lost his mind. "Does she know what you do?" She saw that as a possible deal-breaker. Something that might send her running. Only children really believed in Santa Claus any more.

"Yes, Mother, she knows I'm Santa. It was a bit of a shock at first and she didn't believe me, but she came around. Now she loves the idea." Rick was certain she was looking forward to being Mrs. Claus.

"She said yes, I take it?" Martha saw him nod. "Does she know she has to live in the North Pole?" He nodded again. Martha had another question. "Are you sure you two aren't moving too fast? It was only one little train trip." It usually took months to get engaged and then still more months to get married.

"Yes, I'm sure. You're going to get to meet her and her dad tonight since we're having dinner there. So you need to look your best." Rick looked at his Christmas watch. "You have two hours."

"Tonight!?" Now she knew her son was nuts. "Two hours?" It was going to take her longer than that. "Does her father know about this? Of course he doesn't." Those two were as good as dead.

Rick got up. "Up, Mother, you have two hours." He needed to use the second bathroom to get ready himself.

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Her dad opened the door. She was so happy to see him. "Hi, Dad!"

"Katie!" Jim hugged her then pulled her inside and closed the door. "So how was your trip? Where's Will?" He wasn't really a fan of his but if his daughter liked him, he would suffer through.

"Please don't ever mention him again and don't ever, _ever_ call him my boyfriend again." Kate didn't even want to think about him if she could help it.

That was a shock to him. "What did he do?" Maybe he didn't mean it and they could recover from it.

Her face flushed red with anger. "Will is a murderer, Dad. He's been arrested and is going to be locked up for the rest of his life. I don't ever want to hear his name again." Kate thought about going into the kitchen to get a stiff drink to wash away having to actually say his name. However, her dad didn't have any alcohol since he was a recovering alcoholic.

Stunned, Jim sat down. It sounded like her fun trip had been anything but. "A murderer?" He hadn't liked the man but he hadn't expected _that._

Kate sat down next to him and took his hand with both of hers. "I did meet someone. He's amazing and you're going to love him. I love him more than I can ever say." She squeezed his hand.

"You love him? In twelve days?" His daughter had lost her mind. Though she was glowing in a way he had never seen before in his life. "What's his name?" He would go into work and do a search on him to satisfy his peace of mind.

"Richard Castle. He's so funny and so very kind. He's in toys." She needed to build up to telling him he was Santa Claus.

Then Jim felt something and lifted up the offending hand to find an engagement ring on her finger. "Katie!? What have you done?"

"I'm engaged." She put on her best _Please don't shoot me_ face.

"Come again? You're engaged to this guy you met on the train, I take it." His daughter had lost her ever-loving mind. First her boyfriend turned out to be a murderer and now she was engaged to a man she had just met! "Who are you and what have you done with my Katie?" This person was definitely not his daughter. She didn't do things like that.

Kate couldn't help but start laughing. "It's me, Dad, and you're going to love him. I love him with all my heart. Oh, and we need to get busy cooking. He and his mother are going to be over here for dinner in two hours." She got up and went into the kitchen.

Jim stopped her in her tracks. "There's nothing in there, Katie. And his mother, really?" She was introducing him to him and including his mother? Now he knew she'd lost it. That or this really was serious.

"What's the closest restaurant that can do take-out for four?" She needed to think. "Papa Baresi's! It's only two blocks down the street. You warm up the oven, set the table, and I'll get the food." Kate headed for the door and turned to see her dad still just sitting there.

"Please, Daddy. I love him and you'll love him after you meet him. …Please!" She didn't have much time left. Jim got up to appease his daughter. "Thank you, oh, thank you!. …Love you!" She hurried out the door.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Kate was back with bags in her hands. "Go get ready, Dad. I'll use the guest room and en suite to get cleaned up. Please hurry!" He needed to look his best. She couldn't wait and began putting the food that need to be kept warm into the oven. Then she walked over to him and started pushing. "Go and put on one of your best suits." She pushed him into his room then headed for the spare bathroom after grabbing one of her suitcases.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

She was out of the shower, dry, and dressed. Her hair was up since that was easier and she'd even put on a little makeup. Then she hustled to the kitchen to check on dinner. At least her dad had set the table for four. There was a knock at the door.

"They're here!" It couldn't be anyone else, surely. Opening the door she saw Castle wearing his amazing green suit from the trip and an older, rather thin woman with fiery red hair. "Castle!" She was glad he was here and couldn't resist hugging him.

Rick proceeded to introduce them to each other. "Mother, this is Kate. Kate, this is my mother, Martha."

"Hi, I'm so glad to meet you. Dad will be out soon." Kate turned her head to look but didn't see him.

"It's a pleasure, Katherine." Martha moved in and hugged her.

Kate closed the door and needed to find her dad. Martha smiled. "I smell Italian. It's one of my favorites."

"I'll see what's keeping my dad." She disappeared and moments later came out with him in tow.

"Dad, this is Rick and his mother, Martha. This is my dad, Jim."

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Talk was basically civil as Jim asked most of the questions since he hadn't had much time to question his daughter about the trip.

"Are you sure you two are certain about all this?" He meant getting married. He was happy for her but it just seemed sudden and not well-thought-out to him.

"Yes, Dad." She swallowed hard. "But there's one thing you need to know." She really didn't know how she was going to tell him this.

"You haven't told him?" Martha asked and saw Kate shake her head. "Oh, dear." Jim was going to think the two of them had lost their minds for sure.

"Told me what?" Jim had heard a lot already. He couldn't believe that her boyfriend had done what he had done. And he was still trying to get past how fast these two had moved.

Rick saw his mother looking at him. He sighed heavily then looked her father straight in the eye. "I'm Santa Claus."

Kate stood up for the man she loved. "It's the truth, Dad. He really is Santa Claus."

"You don't believe in Santa and neither do I," Jim retorted. "You haven't since you were a little girl. He doesn't exist, let alone him being Santa." Jim didn't know what to think. How had his daughter come to this conclusion? Maybe drugs were involved.

Before Kate could ask Rick to show him. It started to snow, _INDOORS!_

Taken aback, Jim looked around then glanced up at the ceiling. It just seemed to come from nowhere; it only snowed around them and not the entire room. The snow was even cold. But they were indoors. Jim's mouth opened but nothing came out. Then a piece of paper fell from the ceiling and landed on his plate. He picked it up, read it, and his jaw dropped. He recognized it easily. It was one of his letters to Santa when he was just a little boy long before his parents died. "How…?" It was impossible, totally impossible.

"It was the last letter you ever sent to Santa. Like Kate's letter, you didn't get what you asked for. You wanted a puppy but I can't give life or take it. So you didn't get a puppy that Christmas. You stopped believing in Santa after that," Rick explained even though Jim hadn't read it out loud.

"I really wanted that puppy. I gave up on Santa after that." Jim noticed that it had stopped snowing and was melting fast. "Jo didn't want to ruin it for Katie so we let her believe until suddenly she told us she didn't believe any more."

Kate laid her hand on her dad's. "I was wrong, so very wrong. Please believe, Dad, …please." It was so very important to her that he did.

Martha added her voice. "Trust me, it's a shock. It took more than a snow job and a letter to convince me. You should see the North Pole where he spends all his time."

Was he ready to listen? "Well, Daddy?"

"Santa Claus." Jim looked at his last letter again. He hadn't written like this in a really long time.

"I should have brought my bag and changed into my suit." Rick kicked himself over that. "I still can, though." All he had to do was go get it and come right back.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Jim was still staring wide-eyed after Rick had vanished in a small snowfall, only to come back in another small snowfall. Now he was in the spare bedroom changing clothes.

Then out came Santa Claus. He was fat, his cheeks and the tip of his nose were red. He was wearing a tiny pair of reading glasses. His hair was white and hung down to his shoulders. He was even wrinkled from old age. He was the best fake Santa Jim had ever seen.

"Ho, Ho, Ho!" Rick laughed and his whole body seemed to jiggle. Then suddenly he took his hat off and in an instant, all of that disappeared. It was just Rick in a red suit that didn't even begin to fit him. He was way too skinny for it.

Kate looked from Rick to her dad who was just standing there with his mouth hanging open. "Dad?" She watched as Martha stepped up to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Santa exists, Jim. Better start getting used to it." Especially if these two went ahead with their plans and got married.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Jim was in his bedroom with Kate and Rick was with Martha in the living room. He paced back and forth. "This needs to work, Mother." Jim was being a little more difficult than his mother had been.

"It's not as easy as you think, Richard. Until you proved it to me, Santa Claus didn't exist. Give Kate a chance. …So, what's next for you two?" Martha wanted to know what her son and Kate were thinking.

"I haven't even been to the North Pole since I got back. Because of rewinding time, for them I've been gone eighteen days not just twelve. …I'm in big trouble. I was hoping that if I took Kate with me so she could see it, that it might save me." Lily was going to kill him, let alone what Fredrick was going to say and do.

"And Jim?" Martha had seen it and got to go when she wanted. All she had to do was call her son to come get her.

"I need to bring Fredrick and Lily here before he sees the North Pole. If they don't approve…" He was never going to say it.

Martha patted his arm. "Give him a chance. Lily may be a little rough around the edges but she loves you dearly. Just not like Kate apparently does." Martha was silently thinking both of them, especially Lily, were going to be thrilled for him.

Then Kate and Jim came out to join them. "I'm told that you need to bring elves here to interrogate me. They need to be ready to plead their case that Santa actually exists when they do," Jim said. Kate saw Rick and Martha smiling widely.

"Let's get started then." Rick got up and went over to Kate. "You okay here, Mother? This may take a few hours." He could take her home.

Martha was willing to stay. "It'll give Jim and me time to talk and get to know each other better."

"Get ready for elves," Rick cautioned. He embraced Kate then much to her surprise, she found herself being snowed on. She didn't really feel anything at first but suddenly she was very cold. She also saw what she saw in her ring that was on her finger.

"This is the only physical way into the North Pole. The reindeer and I use this every year." Rick told her.

She was starting freeze to death but the view was amazing. The North Pole looked huge to her and yes, it was inside a dome. She even saw a space at the very top of the dome. Then it was snowing again.

It was immediately warmer and she realized she was right in the middle of it all. There were buildings, Christmas decorations and lights, and trains everywhere. Not to mention elves all around them. "Mr. C!" They'd been spotted.

Rick had to spend the next several minutes introducing Kate to every elf that came their way.

Kate didn't have much time to look at the buildings since she was surrounded by elves who were bombarding her with questions.

"Where are Fredrick and Lily?" Rick needed those two.

One of the elves replied sadly, "With the reindeer. Cupid's sick."

"WHAT!" Rick suddenly felt like shit. "We have to go." Rick made it snow and the next thing Kate knew she was at the entrance to a large barn. Inside there were a number of large stalls and she could see reindeer antlers sticking out of most of them.

Rick left her and ran to a stall. She broke into a run to try and catch up to him. She didn't. She had no idea where his speed came from but he was really fast.

By the time she reached the stall she saw a number of elves and all of them were crying. She also found Rick sitting with the head of a reindeer in his lap. She saw tears running down his face in rivers. He was sniffling loudly and looked utterly crushed. She hated seeing him like that. The pain he was displaying reminded her of the pain she'd gone through when she lost her mother.

Then she saw him look up at everyone and if it was possible, he looked worse. He was in pain or maybe agony was a better description. "Castle?" She walked slowly to him, got down on the floor to hold him, and mingled her tears with his.

"When?" Rick croaked, barely able to speak.

"About an hour ago. He's been sick and weak for days. Nothing worked," Fredrick sighed.

That it was an hour only hurt more. If he had come home first instead of going to see his mother and then Jim, he would have been here.

"Nothing worked, S…, Mr. C," Fredrick told him again.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

It felt like hours to Kate even if it was only about thirty minutes before Rick finally let go and got up. "How are the others?" He prayed it wasn't a contagion.

"They were upset and restless but they're fine now. Cupid was old, Mr. C. It was his time."

"Who is this?" Lily had held her tongue after seeing Kate but Mr. C needed some time. They'd had days to be ready for this.

"Lily, this is Kate, Kate, this is Lily and Fredrick." Rick's attention turned back to his dead reindeer. He should have been here. He had failed him and that was what made it worse.

Lily was looking at Kate with new eyes. Then she saw a ring on her finger and recognized it immediately. She brought her hands to her mouth and felt tears start all over again, as if she hadn't cried enough lately. Mr. C had brought a girl home with him! Her prayers for him had been answered. She couldn't believe it. She had so many questions.

Rick began giving orders. "Make arrangements for a funeral. No work for twenty-four hours after the burial. Then we need to start training his replacement."

"Yes, Mr. C." Fredrick would get started immediately.

Rick shooed Fredrick off then went to each stall one by one to make sure the other reindeer were actually okay and that they got a chance to see him and smell him. He took Kate with him and she found herself being sniffed up one side and down the other. For the first time in her life she got to pet a reindeer.

"Main building?" Lily wanted to learn who Kate was so she took hold of her hand and started walking toward the main building where Mr. C's room was located.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

The three of them were eating again though it was a light snack after Lily had grilled Kate with a few hundred questions, or that was how Kate saw it.

"I approve, Mr. C. I'm going go see to getting some renovations started on your space and go get Fredrick. We'll be back in about an hour." They had to grill Jim with questions before he would be allowed there.

Kate sat back after she was gone. "She's certainly a force to be reckoned with!" Kate had never meant anyone like her. She was determined and irresistible. Kate blamed some of that on her looking so sweet and kind and being an elf.

Rick rolled his eyes. "You have **no** idea. We have an hour so we should put it to good use." He got up and they took what looked like an old steam train that was full of Christmas decorations. From there they walked.

"This is the elevator up to the space that may supply answers for you," he said and both of them looked up. The space was really up there!

Kate saw him input a code, place his hand on a pad, and say something in a language she had never heard before. Then a door opened and inside they went.

The walls of the elevator were clear and she could see all of the North Pole below her. She couldn't help but notice the incredible dome that kept out the incredible cold of the Arctic. The top of it soared above the castle where she was now but still left plenty of space before the ice of the Arctic took over. And the sides curved down, ending with an arched pattern etched into the bottom edge. The castle's topmost tower was kind of like being at the peak of Le Mont-Saint-Michel, the island castle off of Normandy, France, and looking down at everything. Then there were the smaller towers that surrounded the castle. It looked like something out of the Renaissance with the exception of the trains as they traveled around and out into the fields that kept everyone fed. For that was what the North Pole was, a tiny country populated by some of the most special folk in the world. And she was a part of it now.

The room was sort of large yet mostly empty. However, it had a huge diamond-like gem that was bigger than a basketball in the middle of it, resting on a tiny wooden pedestal that had beautiful carvings that were intricate and totally alien to her. All around was glass and she could look down on the North Pole yet again.

"WOW!" The North Pole looked a whole lot better up here than what was in the diamond on her finger. "Now what?" This was his city.

"Now you place your hands on the gem and let your heart open. What you want to know is in your heart somewhere. It will find it and answer your question. As far as I understand it.

"You have to have a good heart and believe in me and Christmas. Have no doubts or you'll get nothing. This is going to take some time so either take bathroom break now or get started. I'll be back in a couple of hours to check on you." He kissed her then headed to the elevator.

He should really help Fredrick with the funeral plans for Cupid.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

While Rick was away from her, Fredrick and he had gotten a lot planned. They had a couple of reindeer that might work. Only one was Cupid's offspring. Rick had high hopes for him. It was going to take months of training for him to be ready. Who ever it was was going to be called Cupid even if he was Cupid 13.

Rick had given her a little over two hours. On his return he found her curled into herself and she was crying or still crying. He dropped to the floor next to her. "Kate, …love?" When she turned to look at him all he saw was pain and hurt. She looked utterly devastated.

He wrapped his arms around her. All that did was to get her crying even harder as she clutched him tightly. Kate needed someone to hold her. She had called him boyfriend. She had kissed him. God help her but she'd actually had sex with him.

Rick just sat with her and held her until she calmed down. Finally Kate looked up at him, though there was still pain on her face. "…It was Will. Will killed her." She buried her head into his chest and sobbed brokenheartedly.

He felt his heart stop. It wasn't possible. The person she had once called boyfriend had killed her mother? What the hell was going on? Rick didn't and couldn't take a life. But he did know two people who would kill him and wouldn't bat an eye. The biggest question was should he ask it of them?

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Kate was showered, dry, and back in her clothes, feeling better finally. It had been more than two hours. Closer to four, really. He had called for Fredrick and Lily so they could go grill Jim. It was the only way he would be allowed to see the North Pole.

It snowed a little for all four of them and they found themselves in the living room of Jim's apartment where Martha was telling stories. "MOTHER! Not that story." She was embarrassing him. It was a good thing he was there to stop her.

"Jim, this is Fredrick and Lily. This is Kate's father, Jim." Rick waved his hand.

"Go somewhere and come back in an hour," Lily commanded.

Jim was wide-eyed as he got his first look at an elf. A real Christmas elf.

"Good luck, Jim." Martha patted his arm and joined her son.

"Your place?" Rick suggested and made it snow. Jim saw them vanish and the snow stopped.

"You better sit down, Jim," Lily warned.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

"Are you all right, Katherine?" Martha thought she looked lost and a little vacant. Like she really wasn't there.

"She used the gem and found out who killed her mother. It was her old boyfriend that she initially went to the train with," Rick explained grimly.

"Oh Katherine, honey." Martha wrapped her arms around her, guided her to the sofa, and sat down with her. "Some wine, Richard." Martha waved her hand at him and didn't look to see if he was doing as told. Her attention was on Kate and she wasn't leaving her alone any time soon.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

Kate had to admit that having Martha hold her and console her did make her feel better. It felt familiar somehow.

Rick had given them just over an hour and the three of them were back in Jim's apartment.

"Dad!?" Kate rushed over to him since he was sitting on the sofa and looked like he was staring out into nothing.

"He'll be fine. He needs to think for a while. We have to come back and ask a few more questions," Lily assured them. Martha knew just what Jim was going through so she sat down on the other side of Jim.

"You four can go. I'll look after him." She knew just what to do for him. "It's okay, my dear, he'll be fine. He just has a lot to process before they come back for more."

Rick was satisfied. He got Kate to join them, he made it snow and they found themselves in his room.

Fredrick excused himself while Lily stayed for a minute. Kate found herself being hugged tightly. "I'm so happy that you're here." It meant Mr. C wasn't going to be alone any longer and that made her more than happy.

"Those two…" Kate didn't have words for them.

"I couldn't handle this place without them." He was sure of that. Then he found Kate wrapping herself around him. Then he heard her sniffle. She was crying again.

Kate had been doing her best to keep herself together but she was falling apart and couldn't stop it. "Castle… Make me forget. Help me forget." She had kissed him, she had had sex with him and he had killed her mother. "Make love to me." She needed to forget.

x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x oXo x| |x

January 7th

Kate was showered and dry. She didn't see where his bathroom was all that great. His shower was barely bigger than the one on the train. However, stepping out into the bedroom naked was another story. His room was amazing!

It looked like the inside of a log cabin. It had wood floors with throw rugs to keep your feet warm. One wall had a fireplace made from stone that seemed to be always burning. There was an impressively large Christmas tree in the corner that just touched the cathedral ceiling. Or the star at the top did. There was a Christmas village under it complete with people, trees, and tiny Christmas packages. It even had an equally tiny Christmas train running through it that never stopped.

Not to be outdone was the Christmas train that was larger that was running around the room at ceiling height. It disappeared into tunnels and came out the other end. There was even a Christmas village for it, too. The train had smoke coming out the stack as well.

The bed she had made love to Castle in and slept the night in was a real Santa Sleigh. It was red with dark wood runners. The comforter was red, black, and gold, while the sheets were a bright red. The entire thing was so soft and comfortable. After making love to Castle she had slept the night through in total comfort. She was certain that Castle himself had something to do with that.

She loved the room and was certain she could get use to this. She had just finished getting dressed after fishing clothes out of her suitcases when Castle entered the room. She hadn't known where he'd gone but it probably had something to do with where they were.

"Here, I got you something." Rick held out a present for her. It was small and the elves had made it as fast as they could since it was for Kate.

"You didn't have to do that." He had already given her more than she was worth. She felt bad that she hadn't gotten him anything.

"Yes, I did. …Open it, love," he smiled. Kate ripped the paper off and opened the little box. Inside she found a tiny Christmas tree that turned out to be a pin.

"It's gorgeous." She could see lights and decorations in it.

Rick took it out and pinned it to her shirt. "This is your phone to me. Just call to me and tell me what you want. I'll show up instantly." He felt safer having her use it rather than needing access to her phone.

"Thanks, babe." Kate raised up a touch since she had her boots with heels on and kissed him.

"Ready for your first day back?" He was ready to take her to work.

Kate suddenly found that she wasn't sure. Still it was her job, she was good at it and people needed her. "Let's go." She felt him wrap his arms around her and it began to snow again.

She found herself in the elevator with him. He kissed her. "Call me when you want me."

"Maybe for lunch?" Kate suggested, knowing that she was going to miss having him around.

"I'll be here." It started to snow and he was gone. Then the elevator went _Ding!_

Kate stepped out and walked to her desk. When she saw it, it felt different to her and she stopped to study it. Coming to work to catch killers had always been hard work. It was just that now her desk didn't feel so dark to her. The bullpen and even the building felt lighter and more happy to her. She was sure a certain someone named Richard Castle, aka Santa Claus had something to do with that. She also raised her hand to look at it again. It felt different to have a ring on that finger. It also had her smiling widely. She was soon going to be married to a man she couldn't possibly ever love more.

Kate sat down at her desk and turned on her computer. While it booted up she looked around. Kevin and Javi weren't in yet, however, the captain was. There was even a Christmas tree in an obscure corner that needed a bit of help. Okay, a lot of help. _It was pitiful_ _-_ _looking._ Maybe once she was Mrs. Claus she would be able to fix that.

She had never been this happy in her life. She was sure Castle was partially to blame but there was something else. She truly believed. Her happiness was because she believed in…

** _ **CHRISTMAS!****_


End file.
